


PUFF

by Bunnykoi



Category: Demashitaa! Powerpuff Girls Z, Powerpuff Girls, Powerpuff Girls Doujinshi (Webcomic), RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Grimm - Freeform, Humor, Remnant (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 12:28:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21816034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnykoi/pseuds/Bunnykoi
Summary: The world of Remnant is plagued with the creatures of Grimm. In order to fight them, young people study and train in specialized academies to become Huntsmen. Four teenage girls attend one of these schools called Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale to master their abilities, fight the Grimm, build friendships and become Huntresses. Do they have what it takes to save the world from unknown dark forces?
Relationships: Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch/Buttercup Utonium
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Pink Trailer

**Pink**

In the dead of winter, the forest clearing, that was once decorated in flora of reds and pinks, was now covered in a blanket of snow. The land was quiet. No innocent forest animals would visit a dead place with nothing left to graze. No creature on Remnant would visit this place.

But one person dared to enter.

A child of spring; her boot crunched against the thick snow. Small pink jacket, short skirt, armor on her chest and arms; the harshness cold of the season did not affect her. She walked past the frost covered trees that bore no leaves on their branches and into a cliff that overlooked most of the land they lived in. She could see the city a couple of miles in the distance as well as a few isolated towns here and there, but her focus was not on the view.

It was of the tombstone at the edge of the cliff.

_Camellia Primrose_

_Beloved Wife and Cherished Mother_

_In Peace, May You Rest_

The child stared at the grave only in silence. The memory of her mother haunted her vision, her beautiful locks fluttering in the wind along with her pink dress. Bestowing her red bow to her daughter, her final gift, before perishing from this world.

The child bowed her head in respect and acknowledgment to her mother’s memory, before turning back home. The moon in pieces hung over the night sky illuminating her path, bringing light even to the blackest of night where dark creatures would hide.

The same creatures that followed the girl.

Their fur was darker than shadows, their faces covered in a bone mask lined in red. Bone like structured covered their bodies, and their claws and fangs were sharp and ready to sink into her precious skin. Eyes, yellow and soulless, locked onto their target: the innocent little girl in pink.

The forces of darkness quickly surround her in the clearing.

The creatures of _Grimm_.

Beowolves traveled in large packs to instill fear and panic onto their target.

But the girl showed no fear. She was trained all of her life to fight the Grimm, and she knew well to never show fear at the face of them. They fed on it, thrived on it, and will use it to end her life. The wolves circled her, in packs of twenty large, waiting for their chance to strike.

She exhaled placing he feet into position. A Beowolf saw this and charge along with two others behind it. She reached behind her back and unhooked her weapon from her belt. With a flick of her wrist, she flung her weapon at the beasts. The innocent child’s toy that was a yo-yo roared to life; it extended in size and the blades opened from the center. With perfect accuracy, she sliced their heads clean in a blink of an eye. There was no blood, the Grimm were nothing like the natural creatures of light, but their body fell on the ground lifelessly.

The girl smirked pulling her weapon around her body gracefully as practice thousands of times. The Beowolves were not impressed and one by one began to attack her. The pink girl answered with a backstep and an arabesque as she threw her yo-yo chainsaw at the wolf and cut its body in two. The next she pulled her weapon back twirled on her toes to fling Tsutsuji Sweet around her body slicing some of the wolves surrounding her. A couple jumped back from the attack before charging at her.

The girl back flipped into an assemble pulling her yo-yo back before sending flying into a straight line killing three monsters in its wake. She pulled it back and landed a perfect plie in fifth position, but not before launching her body in a side flip and cutting several wolves from below. She landed on her feet and flung Tsutsuji Sweet at a single beowolf, but it didn’t cut through like the others, but it was impaled on its chest. The girl pulled the durable rope around her body and the beast with it and sent it crashing into its own hoard. She pulled her yo-yo back, the blades retracted back into the center once it returned to the owner’s hand, but they released again to continue the carnage.

The girl was quick as she was graceful. Her moves were of a ballerina, with the combat skills of a seasoned veteran; at least from a bystander’s perspective. Her moves were still sloppy, and unbalance, missing moves that caught her too close to the wolves’ claws and teeth one too many times. She was good, she had potential, but she was still young, inexperienced and naïve. But her innocence was what made her powerful in battle. A small sweet flower with piercing thorns so deadly. She had so much to learn.

A Beowulf stood at the sidelines and watched as its comrades were cut down by this one child. It raised its head and howled to the winds; its voice reached across the forest and move beowolves answered the call. The rest of the pack charged at her swiping their claws at her causing her to jump back several feet. She wasn’t expecting the extra company, but it didn’t bother her that much.

It was time to test her new technique anyway. With the yo-yo in her hand, she twisted the cap and split in two. Their blades appeared automatically in her hands, but—this time—she was careful. The wolves paid no mind to her weapons and ran toward her in last attempt for blood. She ran toward the closest monster and tossed one half of the weapon to slice it apart and pulled it back. She jumped into the air and flung both of her weapons back and forth in a “Walk-the-Dog” motion. The blades dug into the ground before the spinning into a straight line splitting apart the beasts in its path. She landed on the ground and with a twirl, she threw her yo-yos at the remaining Grimm before her. Her body twist and spin rapidly, her weapons flying around her killing everything in its path.

When last beowolf was cut down, she pulled her weapons together back to its original form and stood in the center of the broken bodies of darkness. Their bodies began to evaporate into ash and fluttered into the wind.

She exhaled and placed her weapon back on her belt. She relaxed her body.

“Blossom!”

The girl reacted to the call of her name. She looked toward the end of the clearing and saw her father; his face was calm and collected as he surveyed the land before him. Piles of fallen Grimm with his youngest daughter standing innocently in the center of it all. He stroked his bushy beard and gave his daughter a warm smile.

Blossom smiled back and ran to reunite with her father.

**Blossom Primrose (15)**

* * *

**OOOOO BOY! My first Ao3 fanfic and it HAD to be this one!**

**I have a lot of goals for this story and I hope you all will enjoy it!!**


	2. Blue Trailer

**Blue**

A young woman stood alone in a small, dark room; the microphone hung above her head; a black music stand stood in front of her with sheet music of a new song. She adjusted the headphones around her neck and cleared her voice. Her posture was straight, her lungs were healthy, and her throat was clear. In front of her was a large window that showed people sitting down and playing with the switches on the board in front of them. People of the music industry she was very familiar with.

One man stood and pressed the intercom. “Okay, Miss Undine, we’re still setting stuff up here. So why don’t you warm-up with some vocal exercises or a song, perhaps? Will get started shortly.”

She had already warmed-up all morning, and throughout the day, so she decided to take the only opportunity she had and sing from her heart.

A song she wanted to sing.

She took a deep breath and sang a sorrowful melody.

* * *

A young woman stood in large room only illuminated by the silver moon that reflected in the windows all around. Honey blonde hair tied in twin pigtails; her blue dress hugged her thick, voluptuous body, her heels clacked against the steel floor taking her stance for the fight. She detached her weapon off her back the twirled it around her in preparation. From afar, some would assume it was a spear, but that was far from the truth.

She wielded a microphone stand.

To most, that seemed ridiculous, until you considered who this young lady was; not just a songstress, she was the songstress. And her weapon was the perfect reflection of who she was; a singer who wanted to fight.

With a flick of her wrist, her weapon transformed. The feet of the stand collapses into a sword handle while the stand itself retracted upward toward the microphone and, like a sheath, revealed the sword hidden inside. The microphone head detached itself from the sword and rested comfortably on a short handle in the palm of her left hand while her, now, broadsword rested on her right hand. The microphone had an interesting design to say the least; the head was styled like jewel with a linear pointed guard at the top. At the neck, there were several buttons as well as a revolver mechanism of six slots each with different colored vials of dust.

She stood bravely in front of her opponent. Before her was a large mechanized robot with its body covered in a suit of armor carrying a sword that could slice her like butter if she wasn’t careful. The robot towered over her menacingly, but she was ready and unafraid.

The robot took its stance as did she.

The young woman charged forward. The robot swung its sword to the right, but she quickly dodged to the left and quickly struck the exposed joints. The robot swung back around and slammed its sword on the ground where she stood, but she was quick enough the dash to the other side. She pocketed her microphone head on her belt and focused on her swordplay. She attacked at the legs and ascended with a leap at the rest of the body before making critical hit at its head.

However, because she was too close, she could not dodge the incoming attack of the great sword and took the hit at the chest. She felt her aura decrease from the attack, but she continued on. The robot hit hard, but it was slow. She needed some speed to win this fight. She took her microphone from her belt, activated her semblance, and sang a powerful note into it while holding down the “Record” button.

Once her weapon recorded her voice, she pointed it behind her and hit the “Play” button. Her sonic voice pushed her forward doubling her normal speed. She avoided the robot’s incoming attack with her recorded voice, and mercilessly struck at its opening. She glided and danced around her opponent attack at every opportunity she could find. She had the upper hand in this battle. She pointed the microphone downward, and her soundwaves propelled her upward with a slash up its body. With a boost, she delivered several more attacks across its face.

The robot, now able to process after an onslaught of attacks, swung its sword at her. With her recorded voice, the songstress was able to backflip in the air to dodge it but did not expect the robotic fist slamming against her hard causing her to tumble miserably to the ground. The attack caught her extremely off guard, a reminder to never be cocky in a fight. The fight had broken through her aura as she saw small drops of blood on the ground from here she landed.

She gripped her weapon in anger. She trained so hard for this; to prove that she was more than a little singing bluebird in the mountains. She had to prove to them that she was capable of fighting and becoming a huntress. To do more than to sing for others and not herself.

She gasped in realization.

She wasn’t fighting like she needed to be. The robot was able to read her movements because she was fighting like she was trained to fight; like a huntress.

She needed to fight like a siren.

She brought her sword and microphone head back together into on weapon. Her beautiful microphone, Parthenope, stood with her as she prepared for a counter strike. As the robot began to charge, she flicked the revolver unto the Ice Dust, took a deep breath and let go.

Her sonic voice channeled through the microphone and created a singing sound wave of ice that blasted into the robot. The ice stopped it in mid-stride creating an icy spiked path and freezing its leg joints solid. The woman rushed toward it with her microphone stand switching the dial from ice to fire. Still able to move its upper body, the robot swung its sword downward at her head, but she countered with a full musical scale of fire. The blaze melt off the ice and damaged the rest of armor, but now its legs were short circuiting rendering it completely immobile. It still attack and swung its sword again.

The woman anticipated this and jumped on the giant sword mid swing. She quickly detached her sword and microphone again, only this time, singing a high-pitched note into the head, the dial now on yellow, and sang a lightning bolt from her weapon and onto the robot’s hand. The robot lost grip of his sword and famous songstress quickly jumped off, now staring down at her unarmed opponent. Like before, sang into her microphone and recorded it. The robot didn’t give up while unarmed and charged at her with its fists swinging. She dodged its downward attack and hit played he voice back at it. This time the dial was on white for air, so her recorded voice released a gust of wind sending the armored robot high in the air.

The woman, too, propelled herself upward, but as she pressed “play” on her handheld microphone, she traced it across her blade. Between the wind dust and her powerful soundwaves on metal, her blade vibrated powerfully for the final strike.

As the gust of wind dissipated on the robot causing it to fall toward the ground, the woman pointed her microphone behind and hit “play” propelling her forward triple her normal speed and collided her singing blade at the robot’s head slicing it off its head in a clean strike.

She landed gracefully sheathing her weapon back together as the robot fell to pieces behind her. Its head rolled past her feet in front of her revealing the number of difficulty it was set on.

11.

She needed to defeat it at a 10 to pass.

* * *

The young woman finished her sad song on a high note.

Flawless as always. She wasn’t called the Bluebird for nothing. Her singing voice was famous all across Remnant, bringing joy and happiness to whoever listened. She was only allowed to sing happy songs for a hint of negative emotions would attract the creatures of Grimm. It kept the people at ease and safe, but after a while, it did not bring her joy.

Her dream come true did not make her happy.

“WOO-WEE!! That was’a migty purdy singin’ ther Bubbles! Now, why don’t you take that ther singin’ music and get this show on da road! We got’a busy day!”

Bubbles did as she was told and looked over her pre-written music sheet, of a song she did not write, with lyrics that did not reflect her or her state of being. But it was what was best for the people to portray prosperity in a time of peace.

She finished reading her sheet music, memorizing it, and stood at the microphone and began singing.

The sad song she sung before had more feeling than this. 

**Bubbles Undine (17)**


	3. Green Trailer

**Green**

In the tranquil of the red forest, a young woman sat underneath the trees. The red leaves flowed in the gentle breeze around, but her presences itself was a color contrast to everything around her. Choppy raven with a dyed, green streak, green crop top and a sleeve on her left arm and nothing on her right, cargo pants with boots, this girl looked out of place in this area; ironically, as she did her entire life. The scales on her neck flared ever so slightly at the thought of her life thus far; filled with nothing but abuse, discrimination, torture, and even death, her people have been suffering at the hands of humanity for being nothing then what they merely are:

Faunus.

She has witnessed the pain, suffered in it and lived through it, but enough was enough. Pain was now her weapon and she was ready send it back to the ones who gave it to her. She was ready to destroy any human in her path, any human who dared to look down her—on them. Her people have suffered long enough, and peaceful protests and talks have proven to be useless.

It was time for action.

It was time for destruction.

It was time for a revolution this world has never seen.

“Buttercup.”

The young woman’s striking green eyes turned to the man who called for her. His entire skin was green with scales here and there. Shoulder length, slick black hair with pointed sunglasses that covered his eyes. The man gave her his signature fanged grin and nodded his head.

“You ready?”

It was time for their plan to begin.

“Yeah.” Buttercup answered with a grin of her own.

* * *

The Gangreen Gang’s plan was to infiltrate a moving train, plant explosives, and destroy it along with its contents. But this wasn’t any other cargo train; this was the Atlas Dust Mining cargo train that carried thousands upon thousands of Dust from the Kingdom of Atlas to the kingdom of Vale. Atlas was the same place where they allow Faunus slavery and mistreatment. The icy kingdom that had its history built upon the broken, beaten and dead bodies of innocent Faunus lives. If they destroyed this cargo train, then Atlas and Vale will lose a lot of money and resources. This will put the gang on the map, not as just some simple terrorists, but a revolutionizing force to be reckon with, and it was all going to start with this mission.

Ace went over the plan one last time with his group.

Thanks to their previous mission, there were explosives already shipped inside the train along with the rest of the cargo. Their job was to set the charges along the cars and blow the train to kingdom come, crew members included.

Snake and Lil’ Arturo, the fastest and stealthiest of the group, were to infiltrate first and to check for traps and anything else that may have been altered from their intel.

Big Billy and Grubber were essentially the muscle. They were to stay back and carry the charges. They were to only step in when the situation called for it.

Ace and Buttercup were to support the team, being the skilled fighters necessary for the plan.

Car by car they needed to plant the charges and set the timer, giving them enough time to escape quickly and safely. Ace’s priority was to make sure the plan went smoothly with no hiccups along the way. According to their intel, the train should only be filled with crates of Dust, supplies and humans. This wasn’t their first heist, and like all the others, they were going to come out of this alive, and everyone in the world will know what they’re all about.

With their assurance strengthen and their resolve fortified, rest of the gang members, with their weapons ready and supplies in hand, were more than ready.

The black train was moving on the track through the Forever Fall forest. It was easy to see from the cliffs above; a black metal snake rushing through a sea of red. Once the train was in view, Ace gave the signal for Snake and Lil’ Arturo to move. The duo leap from their hiding spot and rushed onto the train. Lil’ Arturo active his semblance and raced forward at an incredible speed. Snake stretched their body through the trees in order to catch up while remaining undetected.

Buttercup and Ace sat watching the massive train pass by while waiting for the signal from Snake and Arturo. Buttercup nearly bounced in her spot. She was ready for this. The gang has done job similar to this before, but this was the big one. She was ready to get into action and fight something. A hand on her shoulder calmed her down causing her body to relax. She turned to Ace, her leader, mentor and longtime friend, expecting any direction from him.

“’ey calm down a second.” He said casually.

Buttercup chuckled her tongue flickered through her teeth. “Can’t help it. We got so much ridin’ on this. I’m gettin’ all excited.”

“I understand you are. And you’re right, there’s a lot at stake here, but we goin’ make it, aight?”

“Hell yeah we are.” She smirked.

“Good.” They turned their attention back on the train in time to see Snake and Lil’ Arturo jumping on top of a train car without detection. “Masks up. Time to go.”

The two dawned on their bandana masks. It was green with a set of graffiti fanged teeth; it was their signature style. Something to separate them further from the White Fang. Once their masks covered their face, the duo leapt from their spot on the cliffside and sled down the hill. Ace was naturally faster out of the two, so he was leading the charge. Buttercup, while she was slower, was catching up to him fairly well on her own. They jumped into the air and landed on the train; Buttercup stuck the landing while Ace slide back slightly using his blade to hold him in place. The two quickly ran on top the train from car to car since they landed further away from Snake and Lil’ Arturo.

Ace whistled at Buttercup causing her to look up and see Big Billy, with Grubber in his arms, leaping from the cliff and landing toward the train. Buttercup jumped up, activated her semblance and managed to catch the massive Faunus with ease and without causing a giant dent on the train. She gently placed Big Billy down with the other.

“d’Uhh…Thanks Buttercup.” Billy said and Grubber nodded along with him.

“Anytime big guy.”

“Alright gang. Masks up. Let’s get to work.” The remaining gang members dawned on their masks and moved into position. Snake got the hatch open for their first targeted car and Arturo jumped inside. Few seconds later, Arturo gave the car a clear for Ace and Grubber to jump inside and set the charges. “’ey Snake pick us up.”

Snake stretched his arm down in the car for Ace and Arturo to grab and pulled them out. “Snake: stay here with Big Billy and Grubber. Lil’ Arturo Buttercup and I will move on to the next car.”

“You got it bossssss.” Snake nodded as the trio moved on to the car in front of them.

Buttercup lifted the hatch and ripped it off the hinges with ease. Like the last car, Arturo slipped inside, but this time, there was no “All Clear” from him. Instead, Ace and Buttercup heard an “Uh-oh”. The two quickly jumped inside the car and saw what was having Arturo so scared. They were surrounded by a group of robots—Atlesian Knights-130s to be specific. Atlas was known for their advanced technology and were responsible for many of the world’s technological achievements—robot security was one of them.

The Gangreen Gang had not considered that Atlas would add security in their cargo trains when they normally don’t.

“Shit!” Ace swore as he armed himself with his weapon. “We got company.”

Buttercup rolled her eyes and reached for her weapons. “Calm down a second. This ain’t no big deal.” Buttercup was grinning underneath her mask. This was what she had been waiting for. The Knights activated themselves at the presence of three newcomers. Their grey, metallic, humanoid bodies lit up in red on its chest plate and helmet, and their sensors locked on to Arturo, Ace and Buttercup respectively. One knight’s arms were replaced with a pair of revolving barrels ready to fill them with bullets.

** _“Intruder. Identify yourself.” _ **

“Arturo. Get back!” On Ace’s command, Lil’s Arturo ran and hid between Buttercup and Ace. Arturo readied his weapon, but he was still quivering in his carapace at the sight of the Atlesian Knights. His antennas fell and he wished for nothing more than to get out of this situation. Their leader spoke. “Buttercup and I will handle these guys. Arturo, at first chance, you make a break for it.”

“G-got it boss!”

“Buttercup!”

Buttercup drew her weapons, twin mallets, her beloved Xingyun and her cherished Xianmu. The knight that drew its guns on them was meet with a face full of her mallets as Buttercup used Xingyun for an uppercut sending the robot up in the air. Before it could touch the ground, she pulled Xianmu forward using its canon to blast it into pieces.

“Rest of ya tin cans want some ‘a this?!

In response, the rest of the knights drew blades and charged forward at the trio. Buttercup used her canon to propel herself toward the robots and slammed her mallet against their metal bodies before bringing the second mallet down to crush their heads. She turned around and bashed through the chest plate of an AK-130, pulled the trigger and blasted a hole in its chest.

Ace was fairing well on his own. Armed with a cleaver sword, he was cutting through any Atlesian robots in his way. Ace ran towards two knights and swiped his blade horizontal splitting them apart. Ace and Buttercup jumped back until they were back-to-back. A knight switched its weapons from blade to gun and began firing at the two. Buttercup took Ace by the hand and tossed him toward the shooting knight. Ace deflected the bullets with his blade with ease as he ran toward the robot using his semblance to create a trail of ice behind him. As Ace cut down more robots, Arturo saw his opening.

“Estrella Verde!”

“On it!”

Lil’ Arturo curled into a ball as Buttercup slammed her mallet against his body like a golf ball. Arturo’s body accelerated against the ice floor and Ace backflipped in time for the weevil faunus to crash into the remaining group of AKs. Arturo uncurled his body and ran straight for the exit followed by Ace and Buttercup.

The trio ran outside to find the remaining Gangreen members holding their own against the Atlas security bots. Big Billy pulled Grubber and Snake back as his arms began to harden like stone. He held his arms to his face as he blocked incoming bullets giving his allies some cover.

“Guyssss!” Snake saw them. “They came out of nowhere bossss! There’s too many of them!”

“The intel never said anything about Atlas Knights!” Arturo worried. “What are we going to do boss?!”

“We keep fightin’!” Buttercup said reloading her canon. “We’ve come too far to give up now!”

“Buttercup is right.” Ace agreed straightening his glasses. “We gotta fight our way through to escape. Grubber and Arturo, at first chance, you hightail it outta here. Snake, you and Billy will provide support for BC and me. Got it?”

The gang nodded their heads.

“Big Billy! We’re movin’ out!”

“d’Uhh…You got it boss!”

Big Billy lowered one of his arms, grabbed Buttercup from behind and flung her into the fray. Like two halves of a whole, Buttercup combined her two mallets into a massive hammer canon and slammed it down on the train as she landed pulling the trigger to create a massive explosive blast around her as the Atlesian Knights around her fell to pieces. But more were still coming. Ace jumped into battle, his blade now becoming into a pistol, and fired several shots before turning his weapon back into blade form for close-combat tactic. The two were in perfect sync fighting alongside one another; Ace was the speedy moving quickly from opponent to opponent covering Buttercup’s blind-spots, while Buttercup was bashing and tearing through the crowd like tissue giving Ace more room zip by.

“Go! Go!!”

Snake gave Arturo the signal to move ahead while they took care of the remaining robots. Arturo avoided much of the fight thanks to his speed. Once Arturo past through safely, Snake called for Grubber to move next.

As Grubber jumped on Big Billy’s back to make a leap, he turned his head at the sound of a mechanized monstrosity that was headed their direction. Grubber inhaled and blew a raspberry loud enough to alert his teammates of the incoming threat. Big Billy and the rest turned their heads to witness the giant robot on four legs carrying several canons that could end all of them in a single blow.

“GUYS GET OUTTA THERE!!” Ace called out.

Billy saw the Spider Droid charging its canons for an attack and quickly threw Grubber toward the others. Buttercup caught Grubber easily but couldn’t reach Billy in time was the Droid’s canons fired a beam of Dust powered energy straight at the Bison Faunus. Billy, unable to block it, was blasted and sent flying towards them. The attack itself reduced his aura into nothing, and Big Billy knocked out.

“Shit! Billy!”

“We gotta get outta here!!” Ace shouted.

“Not with that thing blockin’ the way!”

Buttercup rushed forward with her hammer in hand, ignoring shouts from her teammates, and slammed her weapon at the Droid’s legs causing it to stagger slightly. The Droid quickly recovered and targeted Buttercup. It swiped its legs at her, but she dodged and rolled away. The Droid began firing its smaller canons, but she dodged most of the blasts as fast as she could. With her strength, Buttercup leaped into the air, and with a spinning drop boosted with her canon, she slammed her hammer onto the hull of the Spider Droid adding the blast from her canon for more damage. It merely left a few dent marks.

She collapsed her mallets into two once again. Buttercup ran around the giant mech bashing her mallets against its legs before leaping up to its back and attacking its hull relentlessly. However, with her added strength, Buttercup couldn’t pierce through; the material was too tough to crack. The Droid retaliated and sped backwards slamming Buttercup again the nearest metal wall. The sudden attack lowered her aura by more than half, but it wasn’t finished with her yet.

Once Buttercup fell down, the Spider Droid charged its canons once again for another massive blast just for her.

And Buttercup couldn’t stop it.

The blast depleted her remaining aura.

And she blacked-out.

* * *

“Vale Police!!”

“Stand down! Stand down!”

“She’s the only one?”

“Cuff her!”

Buttercup was abruptly awoken by the feeling of cold metal on her wrists. Dark memories haunted her as she hyperventilated and began thrashing. She couldn’t move her arms as they were being restrained behind her. Several pairs of arms grabbed her to hold her down.

“SHE’S UP!! HOLD HER DOWN!!”

“LET GO OF ME!! LET ME GO YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!” Buttercup mustered up the strength to break the chains—break cuffs—break whatever was holding her back, but she couldn’t. Her aura was gone for the moment and she was left weaker than she wanted to be.

“This is Vale Police! You are under arrest for terrorism, theft, conspiracy to—!!”

“I SAID LET ME GO!!” She started to kick but more bodies began piling on top of her to make her stop.

“Damn! This one’s a fighter!”

“Yeah! What’dya expect?! We caught ourselves a Gangreen Gang after all! Cuff her down, put a muzzle on her if you have to!”

Buttercup refused. Even with no aura, no weapons, or any strength to defend herself, Buttercup continued to fight throughout her arrest. She will never stop fighting.

She didn’t stop when they put cuffs on her feet.

She didn’t stop when they muzzled her mouth.

She didn’t stop when they threw her in the back of the truck.

She didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. She won’t stop.

She won’t stop until her team comes for her. Like they’ve always done.

They’ll come for her.

They’ll come.

They’ll come…

**Buttercup Franklin (17)**


	4. Purple Trailer

**Purple**

The warm summer day retreated into a cool night in the city. The city lights flickered on to illuminate the night and keep the creatures of Grimm at by. Several businesses closed for the night, while others had only just opened. A particular nightclub, Mitosis Blue, had opened its doors hours ago, allowing people in; people who wanted to dance the night away, get drunk at the bar, or perhaps conduct illicit business under the law enforcement’s noses.

A young woman had just stepped into the club without any trouble, with an ID that certainly does not reflect her true name or age for that matter. Her long, thick, curly brown hair was pulled back into a long braid behind her back with an odd streak of light brown from her bang to the ends of her hair. She wore a light blue head band with a lilac heart on its crown, a deep purple scarf, a navy cropped vest, light blue sash around her waist and purple tight. On her long legs, she wore a stylish pair of white laced knee-high boots, custom made with metal braces at the ankles packed with an arsenal made just for her.

She smiled at the sight of the nightclub she was familiar with. The dancefloor was large and crowded with people near and far grooving to the beats the DJ provided. The said electronic musician was jamming on a platform elevated far above the floor overlooking the dancer and the bar across from him. The young woman found herself shaking her hips and shoulders to music—which just so happened to be her favorite—and made a beeline onto the dancefloor.

The lights changed colors to the song perfectly and the young woman stood in the middle of the floor grooving away to the music. Even at a glance, anyone could tell dancing was her preferred hobby—some would argue it was her profession, but just by looking at the way her body moved, how it popped and locked to the music seemed completely naturally to her. She looked to free, unchained from the responsibilities the world had on her, and, more importantly, she was having fun.

She turned her head to look around the club—there he was. The man she needed to see. Sitting at the bar talking to gentleman in a white coat. It looked like their conversation was coming to an end, and at the good timing too. The bouncer she flashed her fake ID to was FINALLY figuring out who she was and was now alerting the rest of the goons to search for her. The Boys that ran this place were not the sharpest tools in the shed. Once the white coat man left, the woman smoothly slipped out of the dancefloor and walked straight to the bar.

She stood next to Bossman and ordered herself a drink. “A Dusk in Eden, please.” She winked at the familiar looking bartender.

“Make that two. Both of ‘em on me.” Bossman ordered. The bartender nodded the went to work. The young woman smirked and turned to him. Bossman work a jet-black suit that made him look like part of the mob, with a grey tie that matched his fedora nicely. Aqua blue eyes and matching hair that was pulled back underneath his hat. He took his cigar out his mouth and dabbed the ashes onto the ashtray.

“You sound a bit young to order a drink.” He said, not bothering to look at her.

She rolled her eyes. “I got good genes. What can I say?” Their drinks had arrived and Bossman took his glass for a sip. He chuckled a bit turning his body to face her. Once his eyes laid upon her, he spat his drink at the bartender in shock and pointed his finger at her in disgust.

Took him long enough.

“YOU!! What the hell are you doin’ back here?! I thought I kicked you out weeks ago!” He shouted.

“Because your crew sucks, Boss.” She countered gesturing to the wall of mugshot of people who are not allowed in the club. Her face was on that wall about a dozen more than most people.

Bossman frowned and folded his arms. “Well? What is it this time, hm? You came here to cause more trouble? Otherwise, me and the boys are gonna put you back out on the streets.”

His threats made her roll her eyes—like she hadn’t heard this a million times before. “No way man. I’m here on some serious business. And I know you’re the only one who can help.” She pulled out her Scroll, a handheld electronic device, and showed him a picture of a man.

Bossman looked over at the picture shown to him. “…so?”

“I’m looking for this man. And I need a name—at least. I know you know.”

Bossman looked back and forth from her and picture in contemplation. “It’s absolutely none of my damn business! And I’m pretty busy man who don’t got no time for this.” He lied. “Now, get outta my club ‘fore I make you leave.”

The girl nodded her head. Clearly, Bossman was very busy and didn’t need to be bothered anymore. So, she’ll take her leave, but not before grabbing the drink she ordered—and smashing it against Bossman’s skull. The glass against his head and the liquid was soaked against his face. He screamed as Bliss grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face on the bar counter. The people that were sitting at the bar heard the commotion and began to flee.

“Look, Boss, you know I don’t like being lied to—so just tell me what you know and I’ll you go. Sound good?” She threatened sweetly knowing well that his boys, Slim and Junior, were behind them aiming their weapons at her.

Bossman winced. “L-l-look—OW—OKAY OKAY!! I don’t know nothin’ about him, I swear!!” She nodded her head, knowing now that he was telling the truth. She released him and politely dusked the glass off of his suit. Bossman stood up, away from her, and cleaned his fedora. “You’re gonna pay for that!”

The girl in purple rolled her eyes with a carefree smile. “Oh c’mon Boss! It was no hard feelings!” Bossman wasn’t having anymore of her pranks. This girl came into his club more times than he can count, with different names like Mariam, Alicia, or Francesca, and stirred up trouble with his crew. He’d think he’d learn the first ten times—but nope! Man—his crew were as dumb as a sack of nails.

“How about we kiss and make-up, Boss?”

At her request, Bossman stopped dead in his tracks and turned on his heels. There was a young, beautiful lady, with alluring purple eyes and legs that go on for miles, standing right in front of him, offering a kiss—an actual kiss.

Even Slim and Junior seemed amazed at the offer as they lowered their weapons. Their boss was contemplating over this.

“A-A…kiss?”

The young woman nodded confidently. Well how could he say “no” to that?

Bossman straightened his tie and fedora and leaned in puckering his lips.

The young woman giggled and did the same.

They leaning in close, only inches apart. Bossman could smell the lovely perfume she wore; lavender and coconut. It was so warm, so inviting, he was ready to finally know what her pretty lips tastes like—

—but instead, he tasted the cold, hard steel of her boot followed by the agonizing blast of gun powder as she kicked him straight into his jaw. The large metal chamber around her ankle clicked and fired a bullet through her heel blasting Bossman away, far across the club itself. He crashed through several pillars and glass panels and slammed against the wall—knocking him unconscious.

“BOSS!!” His boys, Slim and Junior, shouted as the surrounding people in the club ran out the door for safety.

“Alright girly!” Junior pointed at her. “That was your last warnin’!!”

“Yea! Now your ass is toast!” Slim said before he whistled for back-up. The back-up he called wouldn’t be what someone would except; several cloned versions of Slim and Junior surrounded her, including the bartender Slim, who jumped the counter behind her.

The purple girl wasn’t surprised in the least. She had fought these fools before, and she wasn’t afraid to do it again. She smirked as she bounced in place. She took a stance shifting her legs to reload her weapon, the Custodia Mundi, the very pair of stylish boots on her feet, and took her fighting stance.

“Multiply!” The two members of the Amoeba Boys activated their semblances making multiple copies of themselves to surround the girl further. But she wasn’t deterred—not in the slightest. The music shifted to a song—by the same singer—that was more fast paced with high energy. Perfect for the situation, and definitely something she can fight to.

An arrangement of Slim clones charged at her all lined up so perfectly for her to retaliate. She fired off a shot from her heels to propel herself forward and spun around to kick the front clone at the center of its chest causing him to push back against the others sending all of them flying across the club in one go. The Slim clones quickly collapsed back into one entity once again. A Junior ran toward her, but she gave the shorter man a sweeping kick by the heel and slammed into other assortment of clones. Another Junior charged followed by several more around her as though the wanted to gang up on her—yeah, that’s fair. Still close to the ground, the purple girl spun her legs around into a windmill kick while still balancing on the palms of her hands. The clones were knocked down by her revolving attack, and she jumped back up with a backflip. She raced forward and kicked each Junior clone against each other forcing them to merge back into one.

A several clones, Slims and Juniors, charged at her all at once, swinging their weapons in hopes to catch her in the attack. The girl was fast as she was agile. She ran toward the nearest Slim and dodged the swing of his axe with a spin of her own into a roundhouse kick to the neck. The kick was loaded with a firing pistol shot of her heels blasting Slim down and to the ground. Then she backflipped off the ground to dodge a Junior’s attack from behind and followed it up by shooting a Slim back from midair. Once she landed, she attacked the Junior by sweeping his legs off the ground, kicking him upward toward the air and performed a tornado axe kick boosted by pistol to send him crashing down into three Juniors at once.

The DJ—who was actually a Slim clone—pulled out a machine gun and fired directly at the girl. She ran quickly dodging the bullets with ease. As the bullets got closer, she ran toward a lone Slim clone, launched herself upward for a midair cartwheel to avoid the bullets and slammed her heels against the face of the clone knocking him down for the count. She quickly propelled herself backwards to dodge a sword swing by a Slim, and from behind, grabbed another Slim’s arm and kick him toward his clone slamming them back into one.

The Boys’ numbers dwindled significantly by this one woman and her pistol blasting boots, enhanced speeds and agile dodging skills. Her attacks were based on precision, making sure that she hit her opponents where it really hurt—never giving them a chance to retaliate and finishing the job accurately. She couldn’t afford to miss. While her fighting style was deadly, there were several—if not, multiple missed steps she was doing to her technique. If her opponents were much more perceptive than the Amoeba Boys, she would have been defeated quickly.

All the Juniors where put back into one and all the Sims were cleared from the dancefloor. All that was left was one more. She spun around and ran toward the DJ Slim, who continued to fire at her from his elevated platform. She activated her semblance as she ran bringing a table in front of her and using it as an extra elevation to shot herself onto the DJ’s stage. She disarmed Slim from his gun and kicked him against his neck knocking him out against the electronic turntable. The impact caused the music to change and the lights to match the atmosphere—which was pretty cool in her opinion. She picked up Slim’s clone body and tossed him down at the original merging them back into one.

Now it was just a singular Slim and Junior verses their “favorite” club regular.

Normally with so many clones to keep up with, the boys’ aura levels would become weaker, but that was far from the truth. While the Amoeba Boys were the most incompetent trio gang in the city—if not the world—their semblance was nothing to laugh at. The two stood up from the multiplied onslaught and pulled out their true weapons; for Slim, he pulled up his sleeve to reveal a set of armored gauntlets that unleased blades from above the wrists. Junior’s weapon was similar to his partner’s, but it was a pair of boots with a hooked blade at the toes.

Slim pointed at her. “You asked for this girly! Now we’re gonna teach ya a lesson!”

With her hands on her hips, the girl stared at the two idiots. “Hey. Why didn’t you guys use those weapons before?”

The two were honestly caught off guard and stared at each other wondering—hey why didn’t they use these new weapons against her with the clones?!

“SH-SHUT UP!!” Junior yelled up to her.

The girl smirked nonetheless. This fight was finally getting interesting. She clicked her heels, emptied her chamber, and grabbed two magazine rounds from her belt to reload her weapon. She jumped off the platform and fired several shots at the duo sending them back further. Once she landed on the ground, the Slim and Junior both rushed at her from different angles; Slim from the left, Junior from the right. Not knowing which one to shoot at, the girl fired at Junior since he was the fastest. Junior jumped in the air to deflect her bullets, while Slim went for a swipe at her head. She ducked out of Slim’s attack, but the band that held her braid together was cut loose letting her thick, natural hair flow freely behind her. Slim was quick to retaliate and thrusted his blade at her pushing her back and damaging her aura.

The purple fighter ran toward Slim but barely dodge a quick side attack from Junior’s bladed boot. She dodged rolled toward the ground and spun around to face Junior but felt Slim’s blade slash against her back from behind as Junior ran up and kicked against her face sending her to the side. She nearly staggered back but quickly rolled back on her feet as the two boys ran toward her. She dodged their attacks as best as she could. Junior’s attacks were similar to her own, so they were easy to read and avoid. Slim’s fighting style was always something she had trouble again and decided to target him last.

She shot Junior back with a strong kick and attacked Slim with a fake-out move; she made a motion that she was going to sweep his leg, but instead, she quickly brought that leg up to slam her heel barrel onto his shoulder. She fired a shot at him to send him further back than Junior and hoped that’ll keep enough distance between them. 

She jumped toward Junior and the two attacked, swiping kicks, dodging moves and trying to out pace one another, but it wasn’t long before the purple woman had the upper hand. As Junior raised his leg for a kick, she dodged it and spun around, jumping in the air for a powerful back kick. She fired her pistol at the kick and sent Junior flying across the club, crashing into a glass pillar and knocking him out for good. Just in time for Slim to come running toward her.

He attacked with several jabs for her to quickly dodge. She was watching carefully. Her aura level was already low, and she couldn’t afford to be hit anymore. His attacks were quickly countered by her kicks and she spun further to dodge any incoming retaliations he delivered. She backflipped away from both his blades at once and charged at him once again with a devious smirk. She had finally read him. Slim noticed her change in demeanor and gulped he anticipated her next move. The girl was dancing around Slim and tried to trip him at his feet. She made several fake-out moves, kicking his legs, sweeping his feet, spinning around him without any payoff or landing any attacks. Slim got nervous and shifted from defensive to offensive as he recklessly shot his arm forward to attack her, but she anticipated his error and grabbed his arm pulling him forward and downward so she can jump up and landed a spinning kick to the back of his head. With a weak yelp, Slim was down and knocked out for her.

She huffed and patted herself on the back—good well done.

The music and the lights shifted once again as though the club was telling her that the fight wasn’t over. She turned to the sound of footsteps against broken glass and saw Bossman carrying a bazooka on his shoulder. The girls takes a stance at Bossman locked his glaring eyes with hers and said: “You’re gonna pay for this.”

He fired his bazooka sending multiple rockets at her. She reloaded her weapon and ran away firing shots behind to give herself a boost in speed. He fired more rockets and as she got closer, his weapon transformed into a large club and swung at her. The girl dodge rolled underneath the swing, and quickly dodged away from another swing. Before she could move out of the way again, Bossman caught her direction and swung his club hard against her chest sending her crashing against the wall.

Ouch—she felt her aura drop significantly low, but that didn’t scare her. She smiled and used her remaining power she had left to finish this fight. Bossman’s transformed back into the bazooka and he fired more rockets toward her. Like before, she boosted her speed gaining as much momentum as possible while dodging the rockets. Back to a club, Bossman ran up to swing his weapon, but she raised her glowing hand up, and his weapon, outlined in her signature color, did not move at his command.

“What?!” Now a sitting duck, Bossman watched as the girl speed toward him at incredible speed, jumped up and slammed both of her feet at his face and blasted him far across the dancefloor; his aura level was lowered drastically. She didn’t let up as she ran forward and attacked him with a barrage of kicks from his chest up to his shoulders and finishing with good ol’ fashion roundhouse kick to the face; slamming her heeled pistol barrel to his cheek and firing a blast strong enough to send him crashing through the wall and outside knocking him unconscious.

The girl let out a deep breath. Finally this fight was over. And, once again, the Amoeba Boys had their asses kicked by her once again. Before she could left, her Scroll rang from her pocket. She pulled it out of her pocket and—crap, it was her mother.

She groaned with an eye roll. Well…might as well get this over with.

She answered the call and put her Scroll against her ear.

“Hello?”

_“BLISS!! WHERE ARE YOU?!”_

Bliss quickly flinched and pulled the phone away from her ear thanks to her mom’s screaming.

“Mom! Mom! Calm down! I’m okay.”

_“WHERE. ARE. YOU. YOUNG LADY?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?!”_

Bliss sighed. “…its past my curfew…”

_“WAY PAST YOUR CURFEW!! YOU BETTER NOT BE AT THAT CLUB AGAIN!! WE TALKED ABOUT THIS!!”_

“What?! No way. I just went to run an errand and got sidetracked.” She lied kicked the broken glass and debris out of the way as she walked out of the building.

_“BLISS!! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO—!!”_

“Uh…mom? You’re breaking up!” She lied again. “I’ll see you at home! Love you!” She quickly hung up the phone and placed it back in her pocket. “Whew. That was close…”

**Bliss Fuchsia (17)**


	5. Author's Note

Hello everyone,

Bunnykoi here talking to you personally about _PUFF_. I am very excited to finally put my foot forward and actually write this fic. It's going to be different from what I normally write for many reasons, but this is also going to be a challenge for me as a writer to tell a story like this, in a grander scale than any other fanfiction I've written. So I'm excited about this; I'm also happy and surprised that this AU is getting attention so quickly and I didn't expect so many people to be looking forward to this. I'm so happy you all are so supportive and I will use that as fuel to write!

Now I have taken the time to make this note to make some disclaimers about this fan-fiction. This is an alternate universe of an existing and continuing show_ RWBY_; most of you knew that, others did not. And I want to make several points clear to those who do not know anything about _RWBY_ and to those who do.

**Do you need to watch _RWBY_ in order to understand what's going on in this fan-fiction?** No. My job as a writer is to paint the world for you with words. I plan to articulate the world of _RWBY_ as best as I can through this fic, that includes setting, worldbuilding, abilities and so on. You don't need to watch all 7 on going season in order to understand one fan fiction in the depths of the internet. If you want to watch _RWBY_, that is based on your decision. I don't want to force you to watch it, that is the last thing I want you to do. Don't worry, I am happy to do all of the work of describing this world to you to be best of my abilities.

**For those you have seen _RWBY_, after season 3, the fan fiction WILL BE DIFFERENT.** This fan fic will follow season 1-3 closely, with several difference because of several character backstories, however, after season 3 (and you all know what I mean), it's going to be heavily altered from the original show's plot. I have my own vice about _RWBY_ as a whole, which I do not want to go into, but my main goal is to not over complicate the plot and story. We're gonna keep this nice and breezy. If it's not your cup of tea, then I understand.

**For those who have seen _RWBY_, DO NO SPOIL IT for those who have not.** While I have said there will be several differences throughout the first three seasons, do not always assume the endings to each one will reflect what will happen here. And if you still believe that, do not tell or allude everyone what you think will happen. Let's just keep it on the hush-hush, okay?

**For those who have not seen _RWBY_, DO NO SPOIL YOURSELVES.** Don't do it.

**This fan fiction will focus on friendships, team building, relationship dynamics and action.** One of the few non-romance stories I will be writing. Romance will probably cover like...10% of this story (for the main cast at least), and I don't want you to only read expecting two characters to make-out at some point. IF romance happens (and that's a hard "if"), it's gonna be a hell of a slow burn. And I've never written slow burns before, so another challenge for me. Woo. But I'll be writing about different dynamics out of romantic, some supportive, some not. Friendships and team building will be about lifting and supporting one another and I think that's something most of us need to read. I dunno, sometimes I get sick of romantic tropes and want something different. There's nothing wrong with romantic stories, and I love those that do, but I'm letting you all know that this is not one of them, so it may not be your cup of tea. This is a fair warning.

The action is self explanatory. I LOVE writing action scenes, so there's gonna be a lot and it'll be easy to follow.

**Expect characters from McCracken/Tartakovsky Universe.** _RWBY_ has a lot of characters, and no matter how much I try to trim it down, its still gonna be a lot of characters. So I have to pull from works outside of the PPG universe in order to make this work. I mean, characters from each other's shows have cameo appearance all the time, so fan fics can do that same, right? ...Right?

That are all of my big bullet points I wanted to make light of moving forward of this fan fiction. I want to be close to finishing season 1 before I post it. I hope you all enjoy it, I'm looking forward to your reactions to it. Don't hold back. I want everyone's honestly opinions of it.

Until next time,

BK


	6. Blossom Primrose

* * *

_“Legends. Stories scattered throughout time. _   
_Mankind has grown fond of recounting exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past. _

_Man, born from the earth, was strong, wise, and resourceful, but he was born into an unforgiving world._

_An inevitable darkness—creatures of destruction—the creatures of **Grimm** set their sights on man and all of his creations. _   
_These forces clashed time and time again, and the darkness was intent on returning man’s brief existence to the void. _

_However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, man’s passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help them even the odds. _   
_They called this power, “**Dust**”._

_Nature’s wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in shadow’s absences came strength in numbers, civilization, and most importantly, life. _

_But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die._

_And when they’re gone….darkness will return. _

_So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to your “free-world”, but take heed….**there will be no victory in strength**.”_

* * *

  
The partially shattered moon hung over the dark sky. Its silvery light, illuminating the dark night, was a blessing for mankind in the early days of civilization, for the light of the broken moon assisted them in fending off the dark forces. Even now, when technology had advanced and cities and kingdoms have grown, people will still look to the moon for guidance and protection in the night. Even in the grand kingdom of Vale, in between the dark alleys and streets, the moon lit the path—for the good and the bad.

A man in a white coat strolled in between the dark allies followed by several men in black suits. They walked casually out of the alleyways and into the lit street; the man pulled out a cigar from his pocket and lit it for a smoke. Citizens wandering the streets late at night backed away and ran at the sight of the men frightened. The nefarious group paid them no mind as they continued to their target of interest; “From Dust to Dawn”, a simple and meager Dust shop. 

The white coated men and his crew stepped into the quiet store. It was a basic shop designed similarly to a jewelry store, the glass cases were filled with a colorful array of hard, crystalized Dust and the walls hung canisters of powdered Dust all color coded appropriately. Behind the counter was an old man, small and timid at the imposing sight. The men in black stared at the Dust supplies presented to them, while the man in the white coat approached the old shopkeep.

“Evening old timer.” He spoke with a small, sly grin. His bleached blonde hair was slick and pushed back. His skin was tanned, and his eyes were covered with tinted glasses. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop this late?” His tone was slimy and menacing as he blew smoke at the old man’s face. 

The old man shivered with his hands up already aware of what’s to come. “P-please! I don’t want any trouble! Just take my Lien and leave!” 

The criminal in white shushed him softly. “Relax. Relax. We’re not here for your money.” He turned to his henchmen. “Get the Dust.” 

The henchmen moved to act. They opened the briefcases they carried with black cylinders and went to collect the powder from the cannisters. More briefcases were opened in front of the old man as the henchmen forced him to take the crystals from the case and into their possession. 

All was going smoothly.

But the goons forgot to check the store to be sure they were all alone.

Because they weren’t.

In the back of the store, there were smaller shelves that provided snacks, drinks, magazines and music. In the back of the store, there was a girl listening to music and reading a weaponry magazine, unaware of the robbery happening in the front. The girl, with the red bow crowned high on her head to tie her natural, orange hair into a ponytail, wore a pink jacket, dark dress with pink highlights, white stockings and dark ankle boots. She wore pieces of armor, a small chest plate, arm guards and a belt that held various blades and ammunition. Her name was Blossom Primrose. 

Blossom was calmly swaying to the music that played on her flower pink headphones. She needed this break—to step away from home. The conversation her dad and her sister had over the Scroll left the household tense once again for a while. Every time she came home from school, all she heard was “Your sister this” and “Your sister that”. She was sure her father wouldn’t mind if she came home a little later than usual. 

Especially since she broke a school equipment during training, and she was certain that a stern lecture was waiting for her at home. 

Along with some parent-teacher conference notice. 

Not to mention, the latest issue of _Weapons 4 Dayz_ hadn’t arrived to her house yet, and she was lucky enough to find a shop that had this month’s issue, because this magazine has an interview with Professional Huntsman Major Glory and they’re going in depth with his weap—

“HEY!” The pink girl was interrupted with a rough shake from behind. She turned around and saw a lanky man in a black suit and aqua blue tie with a tall brown fedora. He was carrying a sword and was speaking to her, but she couldn’t hear him over the music from headphones. 

Oh right. 

Blossom took her headphones off her head. “Yes?”

“I said, hands up in the air! Now!” He replied aggressively pointing his weapon at her face.

Blossom stared at the man, then at the weapon and back at the man again. “Are….you…robbing me…?”

“Yes!!” He shouted clearly agitated at this little girl who was still standing there looking stupid instead of—

With a swift boot to his chest, the henchmen was sent flying away from her and toward the front of the shop. Blossom dusted off her skirt, but she couldn’t call it a job well done just yet as two more goons ran toward her with their weapons at the ready. She dodged a swing with a sidestep and swiftly kicked the back of the man’s head sending him to the floor. The second goon she threw her yo-yo, blades sheathed, around him and swung him toward the back at the front of the shop. Blossom was pulled along with the man and both crashed through the window of the shop. She dropped the man on the ground releasing him from her yo-yo and landed behind him gracefully. 

She turned around back to the Dust shop. The other men stared at the girl from inside—one man in particular Blossom recognized from the news; con artist turned expert thief and criminal mastermind, Dick Hardly. His most recent targets include local Dust shops around the Vale kingdom, but instead of taking Lien, he has been stealing Dust instead. 

Okay girl—breath. Don’t be nervous. Just do as you were trained to do. 

She unsheathed the blades of her precious Tsutsuji Sweet and twisted and twirled the weapon around her letting the roar of miniature chainsaw engines roar as she took her stance. She stared down Dick Hardly and his men daring them to make the first move. 

This little girl was something else. Dick inhaled his cigar before sighing at his idiotic hired help.

“Well, what are you standing there for? Get her!” He yelled at the idiotic Amoeba flunkies. They quickly scramble before grabbing their weapons and racing toward the girl. It was four against one—easy. 

Blossom looked toward the men running toward her. She tossed her yo-yo at the first goon closest to her. The weapon wrapped around the goon’s torso, and she pulled him toward her for a swift and hard kick to the neck. As one goon fell down, the other two swung their blades at her, only for them to miss as she backflipped into the air. Once she landed, she tossed her yo-yo at the second man arching it upward—the blades spun catching the man by the chin and tossing him high in the air. She twirled on her toes spinning her bladed weapon around in a spiral catching both henchmen in its path and knocking them both flat on their butt. The last goon grabbed a gun and began firing at her. She jumped back dodging the bullets and tossed her weapon at the nearest streetlamp to the gunner. She pulled herself toward the pole, disarming the gunman while zipping past him, swung around it once before launching herself back at the final goon for a harsh kick at the back of his spine knocking him at the feet of Dick Hardly. 

Blossom retracted her weapon and spun in at her side. 

Hardly growled as the lousy henchmen he paid so much money for fell at his feet to a little girl in pink. “0 star rating…” He dropped his cigar and stomped it out with his boot. “Well, Pinky, this has been fun!” He praised with fake enthusiasm. “But I’m afraid playtime is over...” Blossom didn’t see it, but she heard a click—like the sound of a barrel reloading its chamber—coming from Dick. “…And besides…it's past your curfew.” 

It happened too fast she could barely comprehend. He flicked his wrist at her and out from his sleeve was a red knife that landed at her feet. Blossom quickly jumped out of the way as the fire Dust knife exploded on contact creating a crater where she once stood. Once she landed, she looked around and saw that Dick Hardly got away—oh almost! 

She saw him climbing a ladder on the side of a building almost three blocks away. Wow he was quick, and WOW he is getting away!! 

Okay Blossom breathe. You encountered a dangerous villain, took down his henchmen, thwarted his Dust robbery and now he’s running away. The best plan is to contact Vale police and let the kingdom’s laws do the rest.

….but HE’S GETTING AWAY RIGHT **NOW** UNLESS SOMETHING IS DONE!!

Blossom looked around frantically—NOPE, no witnesses, no civilians, nobody around to witness this fight. 

…except the old man at the shop. 

“Uh…Uh…c-call the police! I-I’ll go after him!!” She stammered and yelled at the shop keeper as she took chase after Dick. Once she reached within range, she threw her weapon at the top of the ladder and pulled herself to the top with ease. 

There he was standing at the edge of the rooftop, his back facing her. “Hey! Stop!” She yelled out to him.

He said nothing back as the wind picked around them and a large, grey aircraft rose from behind the building. Blossom covered her face briefly as Dick Hardly ran off the edge and jumped inside the flying getaway vehicle. He turned around and Blossom saw he was holding a red Dust gem in his hands with a sinister grin on his face. 

“So long Pinky!” He threw the gem at her feet, but before he could set it off, a familiar woman in red leapt into action and kicked the gem back toward him. From the woman’s back, she pulled out a crescent blade with a smaller ring in the center acting as the trigger for the barrels that rest beneath the blades. She shot the Dust gem while it was in midair igniting a fiery explosion at Dick and damaging the aircraft. 

It all happened so quickly Blossom barely had time to register that a new person entered the fray. She couldn’t see her face, it was blocked by the amount of hair this woman had; she had big, fluffy, strawberry ginger and she wore a full body red suit and boots. Blossom’s brain couldn’t function, she looked so familiar, but she couldn’t think or move for that matter. Her legs were paralyzed with shock that a Huntress had entered the scene. This was serious business!! 

The red woman reached behind her back again for another weapon—the same weapon—and tossed one of them at the airship. Instead of Dick Hardly, there stood a girl at the hatch. Blossom couldn’t make out any distinct physical features about the girl except the dark white dress she wore. The crescent blade she threw was deflected by a fiery barrier created by the mysterious girl with the palm of her hand. As the blade was bounced back, the woman jumped up to catch it and with her second blade she fired a shot. The bullet was covered in electric Dust as a streak of lightning shot directly at the aircraft, but with a wave of her hands, the opposing girl released several rings of fire around the craft cancelling the lightning altogether. 

From her fingertips, the mysterious girl blasted fire at her opponent. The red woman used her weapons to block the incoming fire attacks. Through flames, the woman threw both her weapons again, letting the fire coat the blades. The crescent shaped weapons spun and sliced through the metal on the aircraft—particularly toward the fuel tanks. But Blossom could see Dick in the cockpit piloting the vehicle, and the craft made a sharp maneuver with the aircraft to dodge away from the flaming blades before causing it to explode. Blossom could hear Huntress grunt in disapproval as she caught her returning weapons. 

She couldn’t just stand there and do nothing! The bad guys were escaping! 

Blossom spun her weapon and threw it at the white girl in order to grab her and pull her out, but the mysterious adversary in white simply deflected her bladed yo-yo with her hand instead. In retaliation, several blazing circles appeared beneath her, but before they could ignite, the Huntress in red took Blossom by the arm and jumped away before several pillars of fire exploded where they stood turning the floor into a crater. 

This gave the perfect opportunity for the criminals to escape as the hatch closed and aircraft flew away too fast from them to keep up. 

Blossom stood up from the ground and looked to the Huntress standing next to her. She swallowed her nerves and spoke. “Y-you’re a Huntress….” And it was then and there that her brain finally clicked at the sight of her. 

She wasn’t just any Huntress.

She was Miss Sara Bellum. 

And Blossom was her biggest fan. 

“Oh….my…gosh…”

And Miss Sara Bellum did not look happy to see her.

* * *

“I hope you understand the actions you took tonight, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger!” Ms. Bellum scolded as she paced around Blossom in the interrogation room at the Vale Police Station. Blossom sat with her head down, guilty as ever. The room was dark, and the only source of light was above her head. The metal chair she sat on was uncomfortable and hearing her favorite Huntress of all-time lecturing and scolding her was the absolute worst. 

She was hoping to ask for an autograph too!

“The stunt you pulled today will not go unpunished.”

“B-b-b-b-but—!!” Blossom stammered. “T-they started it! I c-couldn’t just stand there and do nothing!” She defended. 

“You knew exactly what you were getting yourself into. Not only did you pursue a dangerous criminal, but you willingly attacked an armed gunship.”

When she put it that way…Yeah…Blossom could see why she was going to be punished for this and slumped further down into her seat. 

Bellum sighed as she stared at her Clipboard tablet. “Look. If it were up to me, you would be congratulated…” Blossom perked up. “…Then punished.” Bellum ended with a stern glare which caused Blossom to flinch. “However…there is someone here who wants to talk to you.” 

Miss Bellum stepped to the side as a man appeared through the doorway. He had short grey hair thinning and pulled back underneath a small black top hat, a thick mustache underneath his bulbous nose and wore a monocle on his left eye and his right eye had a nasty scar. He wore a white turtleneck shirt, a purple coat, orange striped pants and black and white shoes. He wore a soft smile on his face as he stepped in with a tray of assorted treats—Blossom was mostly focused on the chocolate chip cookies. 

He placed the tray of treats on the table in front of her as he spoke. “Miss Blossom Primrose.” He stared long and hard at her making Blossom feel a little bit uncomfortable. “You have pink eyes.”

“…um…..” Blossom didn’t know how to respond to that. Her nerves were all over the place. One moment she was going to a shop, reading a magazine, the next, she was thwarting a robbery and was now standing in a room in front of TWO WORLD CLASS HUNTERS!

Breathe, girl. Breathe.

The man gestured to Miss Bellum’s tablet which showed a recording of Blossom fighting off the henchmen in front of the Dust shop. “Where on Remnant did you learn how to fight like that?” He asked patiently. 

Blossom swallowed her dry throat. “S-signal Academy…” She answered meekly. 

“They taught you how to use that weapon?” He asked astonishingly. 

“Y-yeah…w-well…k-kind of…” It was hard for her to explain. The man could sense she was nervous as all heck. 

He gestured to the tray of snacks letting her know she was free to help herself. Blossom tentatively took a cookie and ate it. Then she ate another. And another. And another. And another. And…

“I have never seen a toy being used like a weapon. It’s very custom made and your fighting style is so very unique. I’m curious as to how you came about to all of that.”

“Well my dad is a teacher there!” She said with her mouth stuffed with cookies. Blossom blushed from her rudeness and swallowed down her treats. “Sorry…my dad is a teacher there. He taught me how to fight. He helped me build my weapon.”

“You made this?”

“Yep!” Blossom grabbed a glass of water on the tray and took a big sip. 

The man chuckled. “Why isn’t that impressive? And what is a cute, little girl, such as yourself, doing at a school designed to train warriors?”

Blossom sat her glass of water down and stared at the man. “I want to be a Huntress.” She answered confidently. 

“And slay monsters?”

Blossom giggled her nervousness melting away as she continued to talk with this man. “Yeah! I only have two years left before I graduate, then I’m going to apply to Beacon Academy! My sister is already a student there and she tells me all of these cool lessons and missions and stuff and I can’t wait to get in! See—I always wanted to be Huntress so bad, because I wanna help people and Huntsmen and Huntresses help people.”

Blossom looked down and played at the ends of her skirt before looking back up at Miss Bellum. “…I know what I did was dangerous, and I could’ve been killed….but I can’t stand knowing that there isn’t something I could do. I want to save people—save the day and be a hero. And I don’t want anything in return. Knowing that people can remain safe and sound is worth more than all the Lien in the world to me!” 

She finished holding back the tears that were building up. The two Hunters stared at this young girl, who spoke about a romanticized dream of being a Huntress with such child-like wonder that seemed to never die. It was clear from how she spoke that she had been dreaming for this her entire life and that nothing was going to falter from that beautiful dream. 

A sight that neither of them had seen in years. 

The man grinned. It was actually refreshing to see that in young children these days. 

“Young lady. Do you know who I am?” The man asked her. 

Blossom answered without hesitation. “You’re the Mayor. The greatest Hunter to ever exist. You’re the headmaster at Beacon Academy.” 

She also has a poster of him and Bellum on her wall, but she wasn’t going to get into that. 

The Mayor held his warm smile. “And you want to come to my school?”

“More than anything in the world.” 

Mayor chuckled. “I think that can be arranged.”

* * *

_“I CAN’T BELIEVE MY BABY SISTER IS GOING TO BEACON EARLY!!!!!” _  
  
Blossom had to pull the Scroll away from her ear from her big sister’s screaming. 

_“OH MY GOSH!! I’M SO FUCKING PROUD OF YOU!!” _

“’Serk! It was nothing really…” Blossom said as she pulled her luggage onto the airship. This airship was different from the one from the other night. This one was strictly for aerial transportation, and its destination was Beacon Academy. She found a good spot next to the window and set her bag down. She and her dad spent all night packing nothing but the essentials—as well as some of Blossom favorite items. She made sure to pack the stuff the Berserk requested as well to take with her. “It’s no big deal.”

_“NO BIG DEAL?!!! You’re being bumped up by two years!! TWO YEARS!!”_ Blossom let out a nervous sigh.

“Y-yeah…but I don’t want people to think I’m some…kind of…special kid…”

_“But you ARE special!! Oh my god! Aren’t you excited?!! I AM!! Do you realize all of the fun we’re gonna have once you’re here?! You’re finally gonna meet my friends! We’re gonna go on missions together! Have study groups! SLEEPOVERS. EVERY. NIGHT!!” _

Blossom laughed. Wow, she missed her big sister, and after two years, they’re finally gonna be together again. Blossom could remember how sad she was when Berserk had to leave home to attend Beacon, and now they’ll be reuniting and achieving their dreams of becoming Huntresses. 

It was all happening so fast. 

“I am excited ‘Serk. I can’t wait to see you.”

_“Me too, baby sister! I missed you so so so SOOOOOO MUCH!! You’re gonna LOVE IT HERE!!” _

The airship made the announcement that all passengers must turn off their Scrolls and other electrical devices as the ship is about to take off. “’Serk, I gotta go. My flight is taking off. I’ll see you soon!”

_“I’ll be waiting for you at the entrance! I love you!!”_

“I love you too!! Bye!!” Blossom hung up her Scroll and turned it off as instructed. Once the ship was announced for take-off, more and more students quickly boarded the craft. Once the doors closed, the ship took flight onward toward its destination. 

“Excuse me.” Blossom turned around to the person who spoke to her. It was a boy with short brown hair and grey eyes. He wore mostly muted colors, grey shirt over a black turtleneck, with a maroon jacket, grey gloves, dark blue pants and black boots. He pointed at the seat next to hers. “Is that spot taken?”

“O-oh! No! Go ahead!” The boy sat down next to her once she offered. Blossom played with the ends of her skirt as she thought about her upcoming adventures at Beacon. What will she learn? Will it be difficult? Will she make friends? …are people gonna treat her differently?

“Nervous?” She was jolted out of her thoughts thanks to the boy next to her. He was slouching in his seat with his arms and legs spread out. She notices some sleepless bags under his eyes, but overall his expression read that he was mostly bored out of his mind. 

“Y-yeah…It’s pretty exciting, you know?” She said making conversation. 

The boy shrugged. “I guess… Beats sitting around doing nothing, I suppose.” 

Blossom chuckled nervously, not sure who to respond to that. 

_“…The robbery was led by the nefarious criminal Dick Hardly, who continues to evade authorities.”_ Both of their attention was taken to the hologram screen of the Vale News Network that played in the front of the ship for all to see and hear. Students gathered at the front to watch; the screening was large enough so that people in the back could see and the audio echoed throughout the speakers so that nobody could miss what was being spoken. _“If you have any information about his whereabouts, please contact Vale Police.” _

“Man…they’ll never catch him at this rate…” The boy spoke. 

Blossom held her tongue. She was told by the Mayor and Miss Bellum to not talk about her special “entry permit”. 

_“Don’t you worry about the dark._   
_I will light the night with the love in my heart._   
_I will burn like the sun, _   
_I will keep you safe and warm.” _

Blossom perked up at the familiar upbeat, poppy music playing throughout the speakers. On the screen, there was a curvy, young woman with blue eyes and blonde pigtails dressed in gold and dancing to the song. Her voice was rich and light, and seemed to fill the room with a calming sense of reassurance as the song’s theme suggested.

_“Remnant sensation, from Blue Mountain Record, known only as “Bluebird”, has announced that she will be temporarily out of the music career as she focuses on her training to become a Huntress. The record company has not released on which of the four Huntsmen Academies she will be attending—but the public believes it will be Atlas, since that is where she lives.”_

Students began to whisper to themselves. Rumor being spread about the singer not attending Atlas grew like wildfire. Blossom smiled.

“At least she’s able to sing afterwards. Everybody loves her music.”

The boy scoffed. “If she’s a singer, then why is she bothering to be a Huntress?”

The news continued as the music began fading away. _“This Saturday’s Faunus Civil Rights Protest turned dark as members of the Gangreen Gang disrupted the ceremony. This once peaceful organization turned violent as—”_

The screen cut off suddenly and in its place stood a hologram Sara Bellum with her tablet in hand. 

_“Hello.”_ She spoke. 

“Who is she?” The boy asked. 

_“My name is Sara Bellum.”_

“Oh.”

_“Welcome to Beacon Academy. You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of attending this prestigious academy!” _

The boy next to her slouched further in his seat and mumbled something incoherent. 

_“Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world.” _

The hologram disappeared, and many students cried out in amazement at the view from the window. Blossom looked out and saw that they were flying over the city of Vale itself. The buildings and landmarks looked remarkable from this height—she could see Signal from here! Blossom had to remind herself that home wasn’t too far away as dad kept telling her. 

But Beacon was going to be her home now. 

She turned around in hopes that the boy would be awing at the sight too, but he wasn’t. Instead, he remained slouched in his seat, not caring about the sights or the show. Blossom frowned. Maybe he was homesick. Maybe he was lonely. 

…Maybe he just needed a friend. 

She extended her hand to him. “I’m Blossom. Blossom Primrose.” 

The boy stared at her hand for a second and followed her arm to meet her eyes. Her big, pink eyes that were warm and filled with a comfort he had known once before a long time ago. 

She was cute. 

And pink. Very, very pink.

He took her hand for a shake. “Believe. Mike Believe.” 

“Nice to meet you!”

* * *

_“But perhaps, victory is in simpler things you have forgotten._   
_Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.”_

* * *


	7. The Shining Beacon Pt. 1

* * *

_ **“We have arrived at the destination. Welcome to Beacon Academy.”** _

Blossom felt the ship dock upon announcement. She took one last look at the city below—and judging from the position, it seemed like the school sat at a high location since it overlooked the entire city of Vale. She felt her heart race and her hands shake. The nervousness was finally settling in; she skipped two years to attend this academy, and she was sure that she was the only student in the entire school that got this privilege—it was too much pressure! 

Okay, as long as she doesn’t draw too much attention on herself she should be fine. 

Now it was time to take the first steps into a new chapter into her new life. 

Blossom reached for her bag and turned to her new friend, Mike. 

She took a deep breath. “Alright! We’re finally here! Ready to go, Mike?”

“Oh you bet I am!” Mike replied with most enthusiasm she has ever heard him in. Wait—has his eyes always been red? And...blue? “Let’s get-a-move on!!” 

“O-okay, let’s—huh?” Blossom swore she blinked, and Mike was gone from his seat. She looked around the ship and saw, within the crowd, his head of brown hair exiting the ship. It looked like he was running. “H-hey! Wait up!” She grabbed her bag and chased after him as best as she could; there were simply too many people trying the exit all at once. 

Once she stepped off the aircraft and ran out of the docking area, Blossom stood in awe at the scenery before her. Beacon Academy was beautiful and huge! In front of her was a long and wide avenue that led to the, what she believed, is the entrance of the school. Beacon was a large, wide building with several towers connected by bridges; the architecture made it look like it came straight from a fairytale story. The lawn was freshly cut and along the walkway there were flags decorated with the insignia for the Kingdom of Vale. 

Blossom wanted to cry. This place was everything she had hoped for; it was beautiful and grand and filled with the unlimited possibilities. Looking at the school made her feel, oddly, hopeful. Before, she was worried if she wasn’t going to meet all of the grand expectations everyone expected for her, but after staring at the tallest glowing tower that overlooked the entire school and the city, she was suddenly compelled to give it nothing but her all! 

“BLOSSOM!!!!”

Blossom jumped at the call of her name and her heart swelled in happiness knowing exactly who it was. It didn’t take long to find her sister in the crowd. 

“BERSERK!!”   
  
The two red-headed sisters ran toward each other for a bone crushing hug. Berserk spun around with her baby sister in her arms as Blossom laughed, reminiscent of the good old days. Her sister hadn’t changed much in her eyes—she could tell Berserk had gotten stronger, thanks to her training at Beacon, but overall, she was still the same rebellious, big sister she loved dearly. Her brown orange hair looked messy, as always, and was tied in a half ponytail with loose red ribbons. She wore a black corset crop top, with a maroon jacket, fingerless gloves and black boots. Her pants were split with one leg black and the other leg red plaid, also decorated in belts carrying different sets of ammo and pouches. Her dark red eyes sparkled with happiness at the sight of her little sister. 

“I can’t believe you’re finally here!!” She said letting Blossom go. “I can’t believe you’re here, while I’m here!! This is the best day of my life!!” 

“I know! Beacon looks so cool!! I can’t wait to start training! Oh! Where do we go for dorms? Do we have dorms? Roommates? Is there a cafeteria?! What about—!”

“Hold on there, baby sister. You gotta go through initiation first.” Berserk stopped her with a smirk. 

“I-initiation? I thought we had to go through orientation…first…” 

Berserk waved her off. “Yeah, yeah, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You skipped two years after all.”

“SHHHHHH!! ‘Serk! Keep it down!” Blossom panicked. “I don’t want anyone to hear!”

Berserk rolled her eyes. “OH PLEASE BLOSSY! You think I’m not gonna brag about my baby sister’s accomplishments throughout the school? You’re worth telling everybody about!” 

Blossom sighed. There was no point in talking her sister out of it once she had her mind set on something. 

“’Serk…how many people did you tell about me….?” 

Berserk shrugged. “Not a lot, just my friends.” She thought about it. “…and my neighbors.” She thought about it some more. “…and my classmates…and…my entire graduating class….some of the teachers too…”

CRAP! 

Remember all of that happiness and good energy Blossom felt when she looked at the school? Yeah, it was all gone at this point. 

Berserk patted her back and gave Blossom a reassuring smile. “Hey! Don’t sweat it! You’re gonna do great! You just gotta be confident, okay? Show this school what you’re made of, okay?”

At her sister’s words, Blossom small, and tentative, nod. 

“Awesome! Now c’mon! I gotta show you around.” Berserk walked toward the campus with her baby sister right behind. “You have to meet my friends, first and foremost, then I’ll show you where my dorm is. I wonder if they’ll let us get a copy of each other’s keys—for emergencies, obviously. Oh! And if someone’s messing with you, let them know who your sister is! I’m sort of a big deal around here!” Berserk smirked confidently. 

Blossom smiled feeling the reassuring words of her sister overflow throughout her. She never realized how much she missed her big sister. Their little home in Patch just wasn’t the same when Berserk moved out for school. She was excited to rekindle their close relationship.

“BERSERK PHOENIX!!” 

The sisters were stopped by a shorter woman with short black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a white dress shirt with an orange and red vest jacket, brown dress pants and red dress shoes. She hand her hands on her hips and a motherly scowl that made the girls freeze on their tracks and—in Berserk’s case—tense up. 

“…oh shit, it’s Keane…busted…”

“Who?!”

“Berserk Phoenix!!” The woman, known as Keane, stomped over and began yelling at the student. “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“I-I was just showing my sister around! She’s new, and I thought—”

“Miss Phoenix, you know that upperclass students are not allowed to be here during initiation! No exceptions.”

“B-But I—”

“And here I find you, once again, not following simple instructions! Now, you are coming with me, young lady!” Ms. Keane grabbed Berserk’s ear and pulled her away from the crowd and toward a different location of the school. 

“OW OW OW! I’M SORRY! I’M SORRY! B-BLOSSOM!! I’LL SEE YOU SOON, OKAY?! OW OW OW!!”

Blossom stood there and waved at her sister sadly. So much for rekindling their relationship. She figured they would have more time to see each other after this initiation. 

….which was….where?

Blossom sighed again. Great. 

She hated that she lost Mike. It would have been easier to be accompanied with a friend instead of being alone. The crowd had already dispersed leaving a few stragglers here and there, making the avenue look more massive than it already is. Well—time to start asking for directions. 

A girl in purple passed by Blossom catching her eye. Big curly hair nearly overtook her whole form, but she was constantly moving the music she was listening to. Purple scarf around her neck, with a pale navy vest, purple tights and a pair of white, knee-high boots armed with a custom-made chamber around the ankles connected to the heels. Blossom looked at the girl amazed at her dancing moves. She was moving her hips and extremities so naturally that Blossom believed she was an actual professional. Not to mention, her boots looked totally cool! 

“Um! Hey! Excuse me!” Blossom tried to approach her and catch her attention, but with the constant rhythmic movement mixed with the blaring music in her headphones, the purple girl wasn’t going to notice. Frustrated, Blossom ran up and grabbed her arm forcing the purple girl to stop in her tracks.

“Huh?” She whipped her head around and Blossom was met with a pair of lilac eyes looking at her up and down. Wow this girl was tall. “…Yeah? What’s up kid?” She asked while taking off her headphones.

Blossom smiled nervously. “Um…hi. I-I was wondering…um…which way are students supposed to go?”

The purple girl stared at Blossom for a second before scoffing into a small laugh. “Yeah right kid. Nice try.” What? Nice try? “In a couple of years, you’ll know where to go. Otherwise, I think the CCT is that way.” She pointed in a direction. “Give your parents a call to pick you up, okay?”

“Wait—no! I-I—Hey!!” It was too late; the purple dancer was long gone with her headphones back on her head. Blossom sighed once again. Back at square one. 

“Bernie, I told you I didn’t want people to carry bags! And I didn’t need so many bags to begin with!” Blossom turned at the exasperated voice behind her. She saw another girl with a thick and curvy body, honey blonde pigtails, and pretty blue eyes. She wore a dress layered in different shades of blue, but it was light blue that stood out the most. Blue tights on her legs with a pair of heeled boots, she also wore matching light blue arm and leg guards. Behind her were men in black carrying expensive looking luggage. 

The girl in blue sighed in frustration as she was on the Scroll. “Bernie—this is very unnecessary! I’m gonna stick out like a sore thumb! No—I…..I have to go through initiation first. …. I can’t walk into the auditorium with all of this!” She groaned some more. 

“Auditorium? This girl probably knows where it is!” Blossom hoped and walked up to the pigtailed girl on the phone. “Um excuse me?”

The girl continued talking on the phone. Blossom didn’t know if she was being ignored or she just didn’t hear her. 

“Um…Hello?”

The girl sighed. “Bernie—one second.” She finally turned to Blossom. “Hi—sorry. I’m not accepting autographs at the moment.” She said with rehearsed monotone voice before going back to her conversation. 

Blossom was taken back. “What? No. I was just wondering which way—”

“Look, little girl. I know, I get it, but I’m running late at the moment, and I can’t stick around.”

“But all I want is—”

“Don’t worry! Once I finish school, there will be a worldwide tour. Okay? Bye-bye.” The blue girl answered quickly as she and her entourage walked again leaving Blossom in the dust. “Bernie—No! I’m not hanging up!” 

Blossom was starting to feel discouraged but shook her head and slapped out of it. “It’s going to be okay. Just got to find the auditorium. Easy enough.”

As Blossom took a step forward, some large body pushed against her causing her to be knocked down on the ground. She winced feeling her hands and legs scratched up from harsh concrete ground. 

“Hey! Watch it!” Blossom turned around from her position on the ground to find the source of that harsh voice. It was a girl in green; choppy black hair with a single green streak, piercing green eyes that glared right at her, wearing a green crop top, cargo pants and ankle boots. What stood out to Blossom the most were the scales that flared on her neck and cheeks, and the lizard tongue that escaped constantly through her sharp teeth. 

The green Faunus girl hissed furiously. “Watch where you’re goin’, girly!” 

Blossom frowned. “You knocked into me. No need to be rude.” She mumbled as she stood up. 

“What did ya say to me?! Huh?!” The green girl angrily pushed Blossom again, but this time Blossom held her ground, albeit staggering. 

She clenched her fist and stared down the bully. “I said you should apologize if you’re going to push someone down.” 

The Faunus laughed. “Apologize?! ME?! You got some nerve, kid! Knockin’ into me and demandin’ _I_ apologize!” As she yelled, she stepped closer to Blossom trying to size her up and back down, and while Blossom took steps back to give some space, she kept her stare.

“Y-y-yeah! You pushed me down! I believe that warrants some sort of apology! You don’t have to be so mean about it either!” 

Blossom felt her throat clench as the Faunus girl grabbed the front of her shirt and hoisted her up a couple of inches above the ground, so that they were eye level. Blossom tried to fight her hold, but this girl was incredibly strong; her grip wasn’t loosening at all. She could see the feral fury in her green eyes, and it was honestly scaring her. But Blossom was trained to mask that fear.

But the green girl could smell it. 

With a smirk, the green girl threw Blossom a couple of feet away from her. Blossom skidded against the pavement and landed on her back. Before she could get out, the bully pushed her back down and crouched to her level to stare her down. “Ain’t you a lil’ too young to be comin’ here, girly?”

Blossom didn’t have time to respond as the Faunus grabbed her shirt again and pulled her close menacingly. “Listen here, ‘cuz I’m only gonna tell ya this once! Stay outta my way. Or else…” She raised a fist up to Blossom’s terrified face. “…I’m gonna treat ya to a five-star knuckle sandwich meal. Got it?” 

Blossom didn’t respond staring from her fist to her face. This girl wasn’t like anyone she had ever met. She meant serious business. Her lizard tongue hissed out to her face smelling the fear all over the pink girl, and Blossom was dumped back on the ground. The green girl sneered at her as she walked away leaving Blossom completely alone again. 

This time, Blossom was on the verge of tears. She only here for five minutes and she had been ignored, belittled and bullied all at once. Maybe the Mayor was wrong in bringing her here; maybe this was all some sort of big joke? She couldn’t cry—she must not cry. She tried to empower herself with her sister’s words but ended up falling short. She just wished Berserk was here. 

“Hey. You okay?” 

Blossom looked up to a masculine voice and a pair of red eyes. But this wasn’t the kind of red she was used to from her sister’s eyes, these eyes were a bright scarlet that shone in the sun. The boy wore a red cap, backwards, that covered his long, copper orange hair. He wore a red and black shirt, with a black, sleeveless leather jacket, dark burgundy pants and black boots. He wore a multitude of belts on his person, around his waist, his legs, and on his arms as well. He held out his fingerless gloved hand out to her waiting for her to grab it. 

Blossom hesitated before taking his offer. He pulled her up from the ground, and Blossom nodded her head. “Um…thanks.” 

“Rough first day?” He asked. 

Blossom nodded again, this time avoiding eye contact. Something about his eye was so intense for her to describe; she didn’t want to be rude, but she couldn’t handle looking directly at him. “Y-yeah…you can say that…” She rubbed her arm nervously. As she looked down, she was his weapon on his hip. A sword sheath inside a rifle. Interesting. 

She heard him chuckle. “It’s going to be okay. First day is always tough.” She looked up at him to see that he was giving her a smile. His eyes warmed up and softened—a lot less intense than before. She smiled too. 

“Yeah…thanks…again.”

“Don’t mention it.” 

“Hey boss!” The two turned around to see three other guys at the end of the walkway. “We gotta get going!” 

“Coming!” The boy in red answered back. He turned his attention back to Blossom. “So, I’ll see you around then?” As he began walking away, Blossom perked up. 

“Oh! Before you go, um….” 

He stopped. “Brick.”

She shuddered realizing he just gave her his name. “B-Brick. I’m Blossom.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Um…You wouldn’t happen to know where the auditorium is, d-do you?” She asked.

Brick took a step forward toward her and spun her around forcing her to look at a particular building. He pointed at it; his body was very close to hers. She could feel his breath on her neck. “Keep going to the courtyard. Past the statue, under the bridge, there’s a smaller building next to the amphitheater that leads right to the auditorium. Can’t miss it. Got it?” Blossom’s face felt warm with how in proximity they were. If she moved her head a little bit more, she would be sure their faces would touch. Once he was finished giving directions, she could feel Brick’s eyes travel to her face—it was making her heart go a million miles per second. 

“Y-Yeah…” She said nodding her head. 

“Good.” Brick backed away. “I’ll see you around, Blossom.” He gave her a wink before walking away joining his group afar. As he pulled his cap forward, Blossom waved.

“I-I’ll see you later, Brick! And thank you again!” She smiled. Something good actually happened today. Alright! No more feeling sad. It was a rough start, sure, but now it was time to march toward that auditorium and officially start her training!

Blossom jogged down the road to the courtyard as instructed and found the statue Brick was talking about. It was a large statue that featured a man and a woman, both wearing a hood, standing over a cliff. The man stood at the highest point with his sword raised high in triumph; the woman, with her battle axe to the side, stood next to him looking outward. Below them and below the cliff, a Beowolf Grimm stood with its claws out. Blossom took a moment to awe at the statue and what it represents, until a groan from the other side caught her attention. 

She walked around and saw Mike laying underneath the statue—beaten up, but not too terribly injured. 

“Mike!” Blossom ran to his side. “Mike! What happened to you?” 

Blossom could hear a group of students snickering and laughing as they walked by. They pointed at Mike telling him, “Serves you right!” and “Got your ass kicked is what happened!”, followed by more laughter as they walked away.

Mike sighed struggling to stand up even with Blossom help. “…got into a fight.” He simply said. 

“Why? With whom?” Blossom thought about the green Faunus girl she encountered. 

Mike skipped the “Why” and, instead, answered the “Who”. “Some…red…asshole…” 

….Brick? But he seemed like a really nice guy. Blossom couldn’t help the feeling of her heart dropping. Appearances were deceiving she guessed. 

“Are you okay?” She asked concerned for her new friend. 

“Yeah…I can walk….” Blossom let him go, but she stayed close to him in case he collapsed. “…thanks.”

“No problem. You still haven’t told me why you got into a fight though.”

Mike waved it off. “It’s best if you didn’t know.”

She frowned but let it slide. “Well…c’mon. We gotta head to the auditorium. For our initiation—I mean if you feel well enough.” 

He sighed, rolling his grey eyes to the sky. “Sure….why not…” 

The duo began walking toward the amphitheater entrance. Blossom looked at Mike. He was managing well enough; it looked like he was healing with his aura, but he won’t feel completely better until he took a full night’s rest. His wounds looked minor, but only on the surface. From the way he was holding his side, it looked like Mike suffered major internal damage. As he walked—well, as he limped, Blossom could hear a small grunt escape his lips. 

She wished she could do something to help. 

Blossom held onto his arm and helped inside the building.

“Blossom—”

“Don’t worry.” She stopped him with a warm, endearing smile. “I’m not going to leave you.”

Once again, her smile caught him off guard, and he couldn’t help but give in to her kindness as the two stepped into the auditorium together.

* * *


	8. The Shining Beacon Pt 2

* * *

Blossom and Mike stepped inside the auditorium which was packed wall to wall with new students ready for the initiation. While most students gathered around the front, Blossom convinced Mike to stay in the back where he wouldn’t get hurt. Once they found a good spot, the two heard more laughing and snickering directed at Mike, which he ignored. Blossom looked over at her friend.

“You still haven’t told me why you got into a fight.”

Mike sighed. “It doesn’t matter. It was….” Another sigh. “…my fault…” His tone sounded dejected leaving little room for argument. “I picked a fight with a third-year….I…got what was coming to me….”

Brick was a third-year student? Perhaps her sister had heard of him. 

“Well…let’s make sure you stay out of trouble, okay?” Blossom said, placing a comforting arm on his shoulder. 

Mike smirked. “Thanks. How’s your first day going?”

Blossom sighed. “Honestly: terrible. Well…it started off great. I found my sister—she’s a third year here at Beacon—but she got in trouble and had to leave. Then I asked for directions, but I got ignored and bullied and some girl pushed me down…so yeah. So far it’s not looking good.”

“At least you weren’t publicly humiliated, so, all in all, I say it was pretty solid.” Mike reassured. 

“Um. Excuse me?” The duo looked up to a tall, brunette beauty dressed in a professional, huntsman leather armor dress colored in mostly orange with a hint of red and brown. Her long brunette hair was half braided into a ponytail that was decorated by robin feathers. She had pretty, big brown eyes and a nice patient smile that was directed toward Mike. She gave him a small wave. “Hi.”

Blossom thought she was beautiful—and familiar but couldn’t quite remember why. Nonetheless, Blossom waved back, while Mike said nothing. “Hi there! I’m Blossom. And this is Mike.” She introduced him. 

“It’s very nice to meet you, Blossom, Mike.” The girl smiled sweetly and turned her full attention to Mike. “I don’t mean to disturb you, but I was very impressed with what happened out there. …that fight I meant.”

“Oh. Thanks….and who are you again?” Mike raised his eyebrow.

The girl’s eyes widened as though she was not expecting that particular question; however, she melted into a beautiful, charming smile that was directed only at Mike. “Oh. I’m not important. Just an…admirer.” She politely turned to Blossom and gave her a soft bow. “It was nice meeting you, both of you.” She turned to Mike for the last time, their eyes locked for a split second, before she calmly walked away. 

Blossom and Mike stood in awe of what had transpired. The girl was a beauty—by no comparison, but what stuck Blossom the most about her was that she seemed very strong. Blossom couldn’t describe it into many words, but that girl was radiating a powerful aura and was masking it very well. She looked so familiar too! Blossom was sure she had seen her somewhere—she had to find her again and ask her. 

Mike sighed. “That was…weird.” He deadpanned. 

“She seemed very nice though. It’s a great change of pace if you ask me.” Blossom countered optimistically. 

“….the glass is always half-full with you, isn’t it?” He mumbled. 

Blossom looked around the auditorium. Students had already stopped coming in, but the amount was a lot more than she had expected. She couldn’t blame them—who wouldn’t want to become skilled Hunters and Huntresses? But she couldn’t help but admire the sheer diversity of students around her. Everyone around her was just so colorful—pinks and blues and yellows and greens in very color in between with different hues and shades—no one was ever the same color. And their style of clothing and the weapons they carried told a story about the person who wielded them. They were specifically crafted for their owner, made to fit their own technique of fighting; it was something personal as it is powerful. Each weapon told more about each individual as did their appearance. It made Blossom wonder what Tsutsuji Sweet would tell for other people? 

She looked up at Mike. While knowing him for about an hour, she had yet to see his weapon. He was in a fight a minute ago and lost, and she had missed it. She didn’t want to be rude—or weird—and ask to see his weapon right then and there. 

Blossom thought about the three girls she met on her way here; the purple dancer, the blue girl and green bully. She wondered how they would fare well in a friendly fight. ….well…she probably knew the answer for the latter of the three. 

Her eyes continued to look around and, surely enough, she found the green Faunus girl leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. She held an unfriendly scowl on her face as though she wanted to be anywhere else but here. It made Blossom frown. Everyone here was so happy; how can someone be mad in an opportunity of a lifetime like this?

Green eyes shifted to her direction, and Blossom quickly backed away—she was instantly exposed. 

“Hey. You okay?” Mike asked. 

“Y-Y-yeah….I’m fine…” Blossom didn’t realize she had tensed up. 

The sounds of a man clearing his throat over the speakers caught the students’ collective attention as everyone turned to the stage to see Ms. Sara Bellum and the Mayor. The Headmaster stood in front of the microphone while his assistance stood behind him to his right. The Mayor straightened his coat and began speaking. 

“I will keep this brief.” Everyone in the building was silent as they hung onto the words of the Headmaster. For he will be the one in charge of them for the next four years; nobody wanted to miss a word he had to say—especially Blossom. “You have traveled here in search of knowledge, to perfect your talents and acquire new skills, and when you are finished—when you leave this place—you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people and world. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction.” 

That speech took a turn no one expected. A few students began whispering to each other, but not loud enough to distract others as the Mayor continued. 

“You all assume knowledge will free you from this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge will carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first steps.” 

And with that, the Mayor took a step back from the microphone and Ms. Bellum took the floor. “As I have mentioned before, we welcome you to Beacon Academy. Your first day here will be uneventful, but the day to follow will surpass all expectations if you prove yourselves worthy. Tonight, you all will gather at the ballroom. There you all will be fed and be provided sleeping bags. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready and good luck.”

The two Huntsmen stepped off stage leaving students to murmur amongst themselves. The Headmaster’s speech left…little encouragement for newcomers. Blossom couldn’t help but wonder about the Mayor. The words he spoke were nothing like how she first met him. 

Mike folded his arms. “He seemed…off…”

“It was like he wasn’t there to begin with.” She mumbled. 

The students began to migrate out of the auditorium and collectively walk to the ballroom where they were told. Blossom checked on Mike’s injuries, but he insisted he can walk fine on his own. That still didn’t stop her from helping. 

Once they stepped outside, Blossom noticed that the sun had begun to set, allowing the sky to bleed into colors of oranges and reds. She didn’t realize the day was almost over. The students were led by the school’s teachers to head toward the ballroom, which was also adjacent to the dining hall; they were strictly told that the new students were only allowed to travel between the two buildings as of this moment. 

The food was served to the new students, a buffet of gourmet foods ranging for fruits, to vegetables to meat, all freshly prepared for the students and faculty of Beacon Academy. Each student stood in lines and filled their tray with everything they needed, and they would pick a spot in the massive dining hall to sit and eat. The line moved quickly, so it didn’t take Mike and Blossom long to take their trays of food to the table. Mike sat down to eat, but Blossom simply put her tray down in front of him. 

“Stay here. I’ll be right back!” She said running back to the buffet. 

“Where are you going?”

“There was a strawberry cake with my name on it! Save my spot!” She quickly got back in line and waited excitedly for her dessert. She hoped it tasted as delicious as it looked! Man, everything looked good; is this what eating at Beacon will be like. As more and more students began to sit, Blossom noticed that her new class was filling about 10% of the space in the dining hall. This school was massive! Soon enough, she reached the dessert area, where the selection of confectionary goods and sweets were endless; desserts from all around the world! Blossom wanted one of everything, but she didn’t want to be sluggish for initiation tomorrow, so she settled for just a classic, but favorite, strawberry shortcake. 

As her hand reached the small plate, another gloved hand reached for the same dessert, and their hands bumped into each other. Blossom jumped up to see the blue girl with blonde pigtails again reaching for the exact same dessert. The girl’s blue eyes widened a bit and stepped back. “Oh! I’m sorry. You can have it.” She offered politely.

Blossom didn’t want to decline….but she didn’t want to be rude….“No. No, it's okay. You can take it.”

The blue girl insisted. “No, by all means. You were there first. I don’t need sweets anyway.” While she said that, her eyes couldn’t help but wonder at the different choices of cakes. All of them looked so tasty, but her agent put her on a strict diet and sugar was not on the list. 

Blossom frowned. “Nonsense!” She said, startling the blue girl a bit. “Everyone deserves something sweet every now and then.” Blossom smiled and reached for a plate of blueberry cheesecake and placed it on the girl’s tray. 

The girl looked at the cake, then at Blossom and gave her a friendly smile. “I’m Bubbles.” 

“My name is Blossom! It’s nice to meet you!”

“Likewise. I apologize for dismissing you from earlier. That was very rude of me and I have no excuse for the way I acted.”

Blossom scoffed and waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s no big deal. Water under the bridge!” Bubbles giggled at her comment. “Hey, are you sitting with someone?”

Bubbles shook her head. “Not at the moment.”

“Well, why don’t you sit with me and my friend? He’s….pretty nice.” She offered. 

Bubbles looked apprehensive at first, thinking it over for a second, before nodding her head. “Sure. I don’t see why not.” Her answer was neutral—it wasn’t exciting nor was it negative. 

“Great! Follow me!” Blossom led Bubbles back to the table where Mike sat alone. Blossom took her seat across from Mike while Bubbles sat next to Blossom. “Mike this is—Mike?”

Mike Believe sat at the table with his body hunched over his tray mumbling incoherent stings of words under his breath followed by a few twitchy giggles here and there. Blossom reached out to touch his shoulder, and the boy jolted out of his trance, his eyes flashed briefly from red to blue to grey wildly before he covered his right eye with the palm of his hand. His face was sweating profusely, and he couldn’t stop shaking. 

“Mike, are you okay?” Blossom said nearly standing up, but Mike raised his hand up. 

“No—I MEAN! Yes! I’m fine! I’m totally, totally fine! I just….” His eyes darted everyone. “….need some….fresh air.” He stood up and began walking out of the dining hall.

“But what about your….food…” But her words failed to reach him. He was already out of the door. Blossom frowned sadly for a moment but gave Bubbles a small awkward smile. “Um…sorry….he’s usually a nice guy. I guess there was something in his eye, or something….”

Bubbles nodded her head slowly. “I…see…”

“That was Mike, by the way!”

“…I figured.” 

Right. Smooth moves. 

Blossom felt bad Mike left without barely touching his food. She looked at his tray and it looked like he was….playing with his food? He made a miniature volcano with his mashed potatoes with gravy pouring out of the opening, a smiling face made entirely out of green peas, and stacked chicken nuggets into a pyramid. 

….did he not enjoy the food at all?

“You seemed to be pretty young to be attending Beacon.” Bubbles’s words jolted Blossom out of her trance and the blue girl her full attention. “I’m not saying that to be rude, I was just curious as to how did you wind up here?”

“O-oh…well I um…skipped a grade….or two.” Blossom half lied. 

“Like a prodigy? You must be famous?” Bubbles smiled a bit. 

“NO!” Blossom nearly shouted. “NO! NO. No no no. No way am I famous! Or want to be famous, really…I don’t want a lot of….attention….I know that might sound weird but….it’s just kind of embarrassing.” She shrugged. 

Bubbles stared at Blossom earnestly before returning to her salad. “That doesn’t sound weird at all.” She took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “I understand where you’re coming from.”

“You do?” 

Bubbled nodded and smiled at Blossom, but this one was different from the ones she gave Blossom before. She wouldn’t describe this small, particular facial expression other than…honest? Weren’t all smiles honest though?

Blossom gave Bubbles a big smile of her own and the two girls continued their meals in a shared peace. 

* * *

  
It was finally night. The sun had disappeared into the sky, and the colors had retreated into a dark night sky, decorated with smaller lights millions of light-years away. After their meals, students were given their sleeping bags, and were told that the boys would sleep in one area, and girls would sleep in another, no exceptions. 

Changed into her comfortable pajamas, which consisted of long, pink fuzzy pajama bottoms with white hearts printed all over, matching white top and matching slippers, Blossom sat on her sleeping bag writing in her journal. She was writing a letter to all of her friends back at her old school, telling them how much she was going to miss them and how sad she was about being able to graduate with them like they all promised. She sighed. It was hard making friends, especially starting all over from scratch. In a way, Blossom felt so alone.

Even now, in a section of the ballroom building, filled with other girls chatting and talking about events tomorrow; Blossom’s only friend just so happened to be a guy, and she can’t even talk to him. Well, there was Bubbles, but it was clear that they were just acquaintances. Blossom watched as Bubbles placed her sleeping bag away from her on the other side of the room without bothering to acknowledge her or even seek her out. And Blossom thought they might have connected during dinner—at least a little. 

She sighed and tried to continue her writing, but she couldn’t keep her concentration; someone was playing music very loud. She looked up to see the purple dancer again jamming out on her headphones; the music was blasting in her ears. She was laying on her side on her sleeping bag reading a magazine. Her sleepwear wasn’t as conservative as Blossom’s, but they still looked comfortable. She wore a purple tank top with black and blue striped boxer shorts—her long legs carried scars that were exposed for the world to see. Her large hair was pulled back and held down by a long braid behind her. 

Blossom nodded her head to the beat of the music she was listening to—it sounded familiar. 

….well Blossom, now was a better time than any to embarrass yourself in conversation. Again. 

She stood up and walked toward the purple girl and tapped her on the shoulder. The girl quickly rose her head in Blossom's direction and gave a friendly wave as she took off her headphones. “Hey! You’re that kid.”

Blossom couldn’t stop her face from turning red. “Y-yeah…” She scratched the back of your head. “I…I’m attending Beacon too…so…you know. I’m….not really a kid, I guess.”

“Oh! Yeah! Sorry about that! I’m Bliss.”

“Blossom.” The two girls shook hands, and ….Blossom was just standing there awkwardly. 

Oh boy.

“So….um….I like your headband…” Blossom complimented awkwardly. 

“Oh! Thanks. My dad gave it to me. It’s pretty important to me.” Bliss smiled adjusting the head accessory on her head. 

“Oh wow. That’s cool! My mom gave me my bow. It’s really important to me, as well.”

“Oh awesome.”

“Yeah….”

….

….

….

….this was torture. 

“So….um….what….” Blossom sighed. Why was it so hard to come up with a topic of conversation?! “…what were you…listening to?”

“Huh?” Bliss tilted her head. “Was my music too loud?”

“No—I mean…yeah it was, but I was curious. It sounded familiar.” Blossom stumbled on her words a bit. 

“Oh! Sorry! That happens to me a lot. My bad.” She turned down her music with her Scroll. “I was listening to ‘Gold’ by Bluebird. It’s a really good song.” Bliss explained.

Blossom perked up. “Oh yeah! I love that song! My big sister introduced it to me and called it our theme song. Whenever I miss her, I would play that song; it reminds me a lot of her.” 

Bliss laughed. “That’s really cool. I love Bluebird’s music! Hearing stories like that really shows how influential her music is. They can’t help but give, like a wave of, inspiration, ya know? I like to dance and jam out to her music. It ...does something, ya know? ...Something I can’t describe.” She pondered scratching her head. 

“It gives hope.” Blossom answered. “Her song provides hope for a better future—a brighter future. It’s stuff like that is what makes me want to be a Huntress.” 

“Like all of the other happy songs that play on the radio?” Bliss chuckled at her naivety. 

“Well...yeah! And you have to fight for that happiness, especially for those who can’t fight for themselves. It’s all I ever wanted to do as a little girl.” 

“That’s a cool dream to have.” Bliss’s smile turned into a small frown, and she sighed. “...too bad real life can’t be like that.”

“That’s why we’re here!” The pink child exclaimed. “To make the world like the happy songs we like to listen to.” 

Unbeknownst to the two, Bubbles was listening in on the conversation as she brushed her hair. Blossom’s innocent words seemed very hopeful on paper, but it paled in comparison to the world they lived in. Everything wasn’t as happy and peaceful as everyone describes--even cheerful music Bubbles sings cannot mask the truth for very long. Blossom was a sweet girl; she would hate to see her dreams crumble. 

Bliss thought the same, but didn’t have to heart to tell Blossom the harsh truth. Instead, she gave the pink girl a reassuring nod and a smile. 

“HEY!” The moment was interrupted when another girl shouted from across the room. “Keep it down, will ya?! Some of us are tryin’ to sleep here!!” The girl stood up to reveal to be the green bully Blossom encountered earlier today. Her pajamas consisted of a pale green long, muscle shirt and baggy dark green sweatpants. Her green eyes locked with Blossom, and she snarled. “Oh! You again, huh?”

Blossom tensed up again in fear, but this time she held her ground. “L-l-look! I-I don’t know what your problem is b-but—”

“My problem?! Hell yeah, I got a problem with you!” The green girl shouted while marching toward Blossom and Bliss. “Your chit-chattin’ is keepin’ the rest of us awake!”

But Bliss stood up and held her hand up to the Faunus. “Woah woah! Let’s all calm down here.”

The green girl glared at Bliss, who was taller than she was, and gave her a quick up and down look over. “Oh yeah? And what’cha goin’ do about it, huh?!”

Bliss stood her ground knowing a threat when she heard one. Even without her boots, Bliss could give this girl a run for her money any day of the week. But it wouldn’t be good to get a bad record on the first day of school. 

Bliss smiled. “Let’s just take it easy. We got a big day tomorrow, so let’s not waste our energy fighting, okay? Like you said, some of us are trying to sleep.”

The green girl glared at Bliss then at Blossom and snorted. “Whatever…” And retreated back to her sleeping spot. Blossom released her breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

Whew. 

That was a close one. 

“Thanks Bliss.”

Bliss shrugged. “Don’t mention it! Hey, I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

  
“Oh...okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Blossom took that as her que to return back to her sleeping bag as well. Her writing journal sat on her sleeping bag untouched since she left it. She crawled into her pink sleeping bag and tucked her journal inside knowing that she won’t get anymore writing done tonight. 

She looked around the room and noticed all the other girls were already drifting off the sleep. Bubbles finished tying her hair into braids before laying down for the night. Bliss lowered the volume of her music, but it was obvious she was still listening to it as she slept. The green girl was far in the corner on the opposite side of the room for Blossom to see. 

Blossom sighed. As the lights went out for the entire building, signaling the new students for bed time, Blossom couldn’t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring. 

She hoped it would be better than today, at least. 


	9. The First Step

* * *

“TAKAAKI!!!”

Blossom—and the rest of the student body for that matter—were awoken to a shrill scream of a young woman. Blossom sat up to see her dressed like royalty in a short gold dress with poofy sleeves that hung off her shoulder, paired with purple, elbow length fingerless gloves, thigh-high purple stocking with gold ankle boots. She had some purple leather belts around her waist carrying pouches filled with who-knows-what. The most striking accessory she wore was a small golden tiara on her redheaded hair.

She strutted from the girls side and marched right into the next room where the boys slept. It was the next day, so the separation restriction was, probably, lifted; if not, well it seemed like this girl didn’t really care if it was or wasn’t.

It was no surprise who this girl was. Given the golden attire, her regal appearance and mannerisms, and the all important **“M” **insignia on her person, she was Himeko Morebucks, youngest daughter to the wealthiest family in all of Remnant. 

Once she was on the boys side, she had found who she had been looking for, and stomped toward his sleeping body.

“TAKAAKI!! WAKE UP!!”

The boy let out a loud groan. He slowly lifted his arm from his face to see the golden girl standing above him with her hands on her hips and an expected stare. 

“Um...Good Morning???” She said as though_ he _ was the one who was supposed to say it. 

Takaaki merely grumbled incoherent words and sat up. He had messy dirty blonde bed hair with sleepy, crystal blue eyes. Like most of the boys, he slept shirtless along with a pair blue and grey plaid pajama bottoms; he had a long, enormous scar trailing up and down his spine, and a dark grey dog tail on his backside. It wagged a bit once he was fully awake. 

Takaaki yawned, but Himeko paid it no mind. 

“Can you believe we’ve been in Beacon for a whole day? This place isn’t Atlas, but it has its charm, so I’ll give it that, but couldn’t they at least give us a proper place to sleep?! You know I have strict sleeping requirements! I barely slept a wink without my “Ambient Music Radio”; not to mention your spine condition! How could they expect us to sleep on the floor?!”

On cue, Takaaki reached to his right to retrieve a high tech, simple and expensive-looking spine brace. He attached the metal device onto his back, along his spine, as though he has done this several times before. The device started at the top of his neck and ended at the base of his spine, right before it touched his tail. Once his brace was secured, Takaaki began his morning routine, with Himeko following behind and talking his ear off. 

In the restrooms where students performed their personal hygiene routines. Takaaki brushed his teeth while Himeko kept talking. 

“Ugh! But whatever, I guess. Like I said, this place has its charm. It’s absolutely a perfect place for us to train together. Atlas Academy wasn’t going to cut it! ….racist hypocrites….Ugh! I couldn’t possibly imagine attending school without you! I’ll be an absolute wreck.”

Back in the ballroom where students were gathering their things. Takaaki rolled his sleeping bag while Himeko fixed her hair into pigtails. 

“Not to mention, we’ve been friends for SUCH a long time. It’s just impossible to imagine not attending a Huntsmen Academy together, you know? I mean, look at us. Me: the heiress to a wealthy fortune, and you: a skilled fighter and the perfect student. We are the perfect team. Bar none.”

In the dining hall where students partook in lovely servings of assorted breakfast foods. Takaaki was eating his stacks of pancakes while Himeko….kept talking. 

“OH! Speaking of teams!! Have you heard the rumor about there being teams?! Some say it’s teams of four, others are talking about pairs, but it doesn’t matter, we have to make sure we’re on the same team, if not, one of us HAS to be paired up with Robin Synder! She’s a fighting prodigy! If one of us pairs up with her, we’ll be unstoppable! ….but that’s only if we’re not on the same team together.”

In the locker rooms where students gather their weapons and equipment from their assigned lockers. Takaaki sat on the bench sharpening his blades while Himeko, with her weapon strapped to her back, continued to talk while pacing in front of him. 

“Now, we just need a strategy. Back-up plans in case, she isn’t on a team with us. I mean, why wouldn’t she? She’ll be missing a perfect opportunity to become absolutely popular if she’s not with us. We just have to convince her to join us. But how….do you think she’ll take Lien?”

“Princess.” Takaaki spoke for the first time all day addressing Himeko by her personal nickname. 

Princess stopped her rambling and turned her attention to her childhood friends. “Yes?”

Takaaki finished sharpening the blades of his claws before retracting them back into his gauntlet. He was fully dressed in his gear; a grey blue skin-tight, turtleneck shirt underneath a dark blue and grey combat hoodie, blue camouflage pants, and black boots. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbow for the pair of bladed-retractable gauntlets he wore. On his belt, he carried extra cartridges of blades, ammunition of dusts, and few extra combat knives, for worse case scenarios. 

He scratched his messy hair. “If I remember her semblance correctly, she will benefit from the near endless supply of dust you have. Offer her that instead.”

Princess thought it over and squealed in excitement. “Ahh! YES! That’s perfect! Back-up plan secured! Taka, what would I do without you?!” He shrugged, chucking under his breath. “Now we just need to properly introduce ourselves.” 

Princess turned around and saw the infamous Robin Synder talking to a girl in blue with blonde pigtails. Takaaki stood up and grabbed Princess on her arm and spoke quietly. “Woah. Do you know who that girl is?” He pointed at the blonde.

Princess squinted her eyes for a second. Takaaki rolled his eyes.

“That’s Bluebird.” 

Princess gasped. “No way! What. Are. The odds?! Bluebird AND Synder going to the same academy?” She giggled. “I think we hit the jackpot.” The two smirked and performed their secret handshake. 

The duo walked toward Bubbles and Robin passing Mike and Blossom along the way. Blossom was double checking to make sure she was properly equipped with all of her ammunition, blades and dust before she closed her locker. She turned around and saw Mike finishing loading bullets one of his gunblades before hoisting it with its twin on his back. 

“So….have you thought about who you would like on your team?” Blossom asked. 

Mike rolled his eyes. “I would rather not be in a team, if at all possible.”

“What? Why?”

He shrugged. “I work better alone anyway. Besides, they’ll just...slow me down.”

Blossom frowned. “What if I’m on your team? Are you saying I’ll slow you down?” She put her hands on her hips and stared him down.

“Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look like you’ll handle well in a fight—much less here in this academy.” He folded his arms.

She scoffed. “Says you! I can totally fight circles around you.” If Blossom was the most confident in anything, it was her abilities in combat. She was really good at studying her opponents and finding their weakness very efficiently. It was what got her into Beacon in the first place! 

“What? You wanna bet on it?” He rolled his tired eyes. Blossom was nice and really cute, but there was no way a girl like her would—

“Alright! Bet!” She said catching him off guard. Was—was she serious?

“Wait—you’re serious?”

“Of course I am! You insult a lady’s skills in action, then be prepared to eat your words.” She challenged him.

A flicker of red and blue flashed across Mike’s eyes for a moment at her words, but he blinked and his eyes were back to grey. “Alright, how about this? If one of us takes down the biggest, baddest Grimm before the end of the semester, then the other has to…” Mike paused for a seconding as he thought of something perfect to bet on. 

Blossom snapped her fingers and whispered in Mike’s ear her idea of the winner’s spoils. Mike’s flashed a chaotic, heterochromatic red and blue at the mischievous words she spoke. He grinned; he loved bets, especially when the reward is as equally as whimsical as the bet itself. “You’re on!” 

They agreed with a handshake each vowing to be the victor. 

“Boy, aren’t you two excited.” A gentle voice broke the duo from their agreement. Blossom and Mike turned around to see the brunette beauty in leather armor they met yesterday. Next to her was the infamous Himeko Morebucks, who looked pretty annoyed that her conversation was interrupted. The brunette smiled at Mike. “You two must be ready for the initiation, correct?”

Mike’s shoulders sagged as his vibrant, colors returned to their dull grey color. “Um….” He shrugged. “....I guess…”

“You guess?!” Himeko interjected. 

“I don’t blame you. With all of these rumors of teams, it makes it all the more exciting.” She smiled. 

Blossom gasped loudly as her brain finally clicked at the sight of the brunette. “OH MY GOSH!! You’re Robin Snyder!!” 

Robin blushed at the recognition. “Yes. It was rude of me to not introduce myself before. It’s nice to meet you.” Again, her attention was mainly on Mike. 

Mike Believe, however, raised his eyebrows at her. “....who?”

Mike’s words make all three girls freeze in their spots. Blossom was in pure shock, Robin was in a happy surprise, while Himeko was in anger. 

“....y-you’re kidding, right Mike?” Blossom asked. 

Mike rolled his eyes. “What? Look, I’m sorry if I offended you, but I genuinely have never heard of you.” He defended. 

Before Robin could assure him sincerely that it was okay, Himeko stepped in. “Are. You. _ Kidding _. Me?!” She shouted. “This is Robin Synder!!”

“Hello again.” Robin waved nervously. 

“She graduated top of her class at Sanctum!” 

Mike shrugged. “...so?”

Blossom stepped in. “Mike. She’s won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in row! She set a new record!” 

“....and…?”

Himeko stomped her foot angrily and yelled: “She’s on the cover of **every **Lucky Captain Rabbit King Nugget box!!!” 

Then it clicked in Mike’s brain. He had remembered seeing a girl on the cereal box almost every morning. He blinked, eyes blue and red, and pictured Robin’s face around the iconic red breakfast cereal. 

“Oh yeah...now I remember.” He blinked again, eyes back to grey. 

Robin nodded. “Yep! That’s me. Unfortunately, the cereal itself isn’t good for you.” 

Himeko huffed. “UGH! How do you _ not _know a person like her?!”

Mike frowned. “Look. I said I was sorry, alright? No need to make a big deal out of it.”

“He’s right. No need to make a big fuss about it.” Robin agreed, jumping in the middle. 

“Whatever!” Himeko scoffed. Before anything more was said, the intercom above their heads played with Ms. Bellum’s voice echoing throughout the building. 

_ “Attention all first-year students. Please report Beacon Cliffside for initiation. Again, all first year students must report to Beacon Cliffside immediately.” _

Himeko turned her nose in the air and began marching away from Mike and Blossom. “Come on Robin. We shouldn’t waste our time here. You still need to meet my friend Takaaki. You’ll love him.”

Robin waved at Mike and followed after Himeko. “It was nice meeting you! Again!”

Mike sighed. “Likewise…”

“Boy. That could have gone better.” Blossom nudged him playfully. 

“How else was that supposed to go?”

Blossom giggled. “C’mon! Let’s start initiation, so I can win this bet!”

Mike grinned as the two began running out of the locker rooms and out of the building. They followed a group of other first year students along a path that led them far away from the academy property. Faculty members guided the new students toward the cliffside; the lush, finely cut grass and manicured lawns gave away to the wild nature. The stone walkway they walked one disappeared for a dirt path, and the winds picked up reminding students of the high altitude. 

Students lined up on silver tiles one-by-one. In front of them stood the Mayor and Ms. Bellum. Blossom stood on a platform next to Mike and looked out over the cliffside. Before them was a massive forest that stretched on for miles. She couldn’t see anything on the forest floor, because the trees were so close together. Anything could be lurking in that forest. 

Once all of the students were lined up and accounted for, the Mayor cleared his throat after taking a slip of his morning coffee. Everybody, who were whispering and talking amongst themselves, were immediately silenced to hear what the Headmaster had to say. 

“Good morning. I hope everyone slept well.” He greeted. Again, his voice wasn’t as jolly as Blossom remembered when she first met him. “Today is certainly an exciting day. For years, you have studied and trained to be warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated, here, in the Emerald Forest.” 

Ms. Bellum stepped up with her tablet in hand. “Now, I’m sure many of you have heard rumors of the assignment of “teams”. Well, let us put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates….**today**.” 

The students’ excitement came to an abrupt end at Bellum’s words. 

Blossom could feel the worry amongst the other students. 

“These teammates,” The Mayor continued. “Will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So, as a personal suggestion, it would be smart to pick someone you can work well with.”

Takaaki and Princess exchanged looks.

Blossom could hear Mike groan next to her. Meanwhile, Blossom was hoping she would be assigned to him. 

“That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after you land will be your partner for the next **four years**.”

Oh.

** _Shit._ **

Blossom could feel her world crumbling apart. As her heart raced several miles a second, her brain was scrambling on a game plan, but she was coming up with nothing! She had to stop formulating, because the Mayor continued with more important instructions. 

“After you have found your partner, make your way to the northern end of the forest.” He pointed toward the other side of the forest. “You will be met with opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path….or you **will** die.”

Reality finally settled in. This was a Huntsmen Academy; a school designed to train young warriors to fight against the forces of Grimm and any opposing threat that disrupts the peace. These schools are dangerous, only four exist in the entire world, one in each kingdom. It was common accorance for injuries and broken limbs to happen--heck, Blossom remembered all of the times her sister was in the infirmary after several dangerous missions, and that was only her first year. 

It wasn’t common that students were reported missing or dead while attending these schools as well. The life of a Huntsman was a life that demanded sacrifice, including their own well-being. These schools offer intense training to prepare the students for such a life, but nothing can prepare anyone for the unexpected. Death was something Blossom experienced young in her life, and she would do all that she could to prevent from experiencing it again. 

Her fantasy shattered when the students heard the resonating roar of Grimm from below. Several shook in their spots, while others swallowed their fears and held their stance. Blossom suddenly felt nauseous. Her bow suddenly felt heavy. She wanted to throw up, but clenched her fist and pushed it all back. 

Breathe, Blossom. Breathe. 

“You will be monitored and graded during your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene.”

Blossom looked back at the teachers who escorted them. Surely enough, they were not carrying any weapons or wearing any special armor; just their faculty uniforms. 

“At the end of the path, you will find an abandoned temple containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will recognize that item, as well as your standing, and grade you accordingly. Now, any questions?”

No one raised their hands. 

“Good. Now, take your positions.” 

The Mayor and Ms. Bellum stepped to the side as Ms. Bellum typed several keys on her tablet. One by one, the tiles underneath their feet sprung up catapulting students up into the air, over the cliff, and toward the forest below. Blossom stood at the far end next to the Mayor and she could hear the tiles activating on the other side slowly getting closer to her position. She saw students getting tossed in the air, but all of them were prepared. The green Faunus girl was launched, followed by Bubbles, then a blue boy with a tail, and then Himeko; soon, it will be Blossom’s turn. She had to think of a landing strategy and fast. 

She remembered learning about it in Signal Academy, and only practiced it once. A lot of Huntsmen would be called for duty, and deployed by aircraft. To save time from landing, and potential lives, Huntsmen would jump off and land into the battlefield using their own resources. She read that most aircrafts do not to slow down or lower their vehicle for any means necessary; especially during a Grimm attack. She remembered Berserk talked about her landing strategy after falling from several miles in the air. 

Blossom gulped and readied her stance. Mike nodded at her. “Good luck.”

Blossom nodded back. “You too.” She said as she watched his turn at being launched into the Emerald Forest. 

“Good luck, Miss Primrose.” Blossom turned around to see the Mayor behind her giving a warm and jolly smile. He raised his mug to her. “I’ll be rooting for you personally.” 

That was all she heard before the tile below her clicked and sent her high in the air. The wind rushed past her and for a short moment, Blossom was flying. She wanted to scream, flail her arms in the air, and pray something would catch her from falling, but there was a rush that flowed through her body. A sudden burst of adrenaline exploded within her as she gazed at sight before her. She was so high in the air, higher than she ever dreamed of being. Her head felt light and all of the nausea and anxiety she felt before vanished in an instant. 

She screamed. 

In excitement.

In pure joy. 

This was the start she had always dreamed of, and she couldn’t start feeling fearful now. 

She felt herself losing altitude quickly, so she launched her body forward while taking her weapon from her belt. 

This was the day she had been waiting for.

* * *


End file.
